4.1.5. Selective logging in the concession areas

The fact that most of the concession areas have been selectively logged does not greatly diminish their ecological value. Selective logging does affect the forest ecosystem in many ways and destroys the habitat of numerous species, but the forest nevertheless remains more or less diverse and can house endangered species such as the tiger. It can also perform the key functions of a forest such as regulate the water cycle in the surounding area. Given several decades of being left to its own devices, the rainforest can eventually return to more or less its original state.

The partially good state of APRIL's concession forests has been confirmed by several visitors to the area (authors' own findings in Riau; Suomen Kuvalehti, April 3, 1998; Helsingin Sanomat, Nov. 5, 1998). The studies carried out by the SGS certifying company in APRIL's concession areas concluded that viable natural rainforests were being logged to make way for plantations (SGS, 1998). The sturdiness of the forests in the concession areas is also shown by the fact that large amounts of timber are taken as raw material for the sawmills and plywood of APRIL's sister company, RGM Panel (discussion with APRIL's field manager in Cerent, July 1998). These industries rely mostly on sturdy timber logged from natural rainforests.