APRIL’s membership has been put on formal probation, and has been given twelve months to comply. APRIL’s membership of the WBCSD’s Forest Solutions Group (FSG) has also been suspended. Further, the WBCSD has recommended that ‘APRIL consider transferring membership to its parent company – the [Royal Golden Eagle] RGE Group – covering all its various operating units; including prospects of aligning RGE’s other forest industry operations with the FSG membership principles’.

“When an organisation led by CEOs of some of the world’s biggest corporations threatens to kick it out of the club, then you would think APRIL would listen. It’s time for APRIL to take this threat seriously and finally implement an immediate moratorium on all further forest clearance. If companies like APP can, then what is APRIL waiting for?” said Phil Aikman, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace.