The collaboration brings together IUCN’s global scientific expertise and APRIL’s operational reach in Indonesia. It aims to generate robust conservation science, expand the use of conservation tools in the natural landscapes APRIL manages and build capacity that supports national and international biodiversity goals.

A key focus of the collaboration is the expansion of the IUCN’s Red List of Ecosystems (RLE), one of the world’s most important indicators of ecosystem health under the Global Biodiversity Framework. This will contribute to a Global RLE Peatlands Assessment, which aims to provide stronger evidence to guide the conservation of this critical ecosystem and important global carbon sink.

Peatlands make up around 3 to 4 percent of the Earth’s land surface but contain up to a third of total soil carbon, around twice the amount locked up in global forests.

The collaboration will also pilot the IUCN RHINO approach (Rapid High-Integrity Nature-positive Outcomes) in APRIL’s operations. That will include the 150,693-hectare Restorasi Ekosistem Riau (RER), a forest conservation and restoration program spanning twice the size of Singapore that is located on the Kampar Peninsula in Sumatra’s Riau province.

Initiated in 2013, RER is currently one of the largest private sector-funded protected areas dedicated solely for conservation anywhere in the world. As of 2024, RER is home to 896 species of flora and fauna, including 14 categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, such as the Sumatran tiger and the Sunda pangolin.

In addition, as part of its focus on conservation. APRIL has a 1-for-1 policy commitment to conserve and restore 1 hectare of forest for every hectare of plantation. To date, APRIL has achieved 77 percent of this target with a conservation footprint reaching over 465,000 hectares, or over six times the size of Singapore.

(Courtesy of APRIL Group)

The collaboration with IUCN will evaluate and provide strategic guidance on ways to further enhance APRIL’s biodiversity conservation and restoration programs. It will also generate practical lessons for the wider forestry and land use sector on how to measure, improve and share progress on biodiversity outcomes.

"The world is running out of time to reverse biodiversity loss, and science must guide every step we take,” said IUCN director general Grethel Aguilar. “This collaboration with APRIL allows us to scale up the Red List of Ecosystems and test new approaches like IUCN RHINO in real-world scenarios,” she said.

“By combining IUCN’s science with APRIL’s operational reach in Indonesia, we can turn data into action and create a sustainable model for how business and conservation can work together to meet global biodiversity targets."

The collaboration further provides a unique opportunity for IUCN to strengthen its work with Indonesian members and conservation actors, catalyzing on-the-ground action at scale. As part of the collaboration, IUCN will deepen engagement with a range of stakeholders in Indonesia in contributing to the advancement of national efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity, through strong integration of the perspectives of local communities and experts.

According to RGE managing director Anderson Tanoto, who is also on APRIL’s executive committee, conservation is about taking practical action, and businesses today are expected to move beyond pledges and deliver results that are credible and measurable on the ground. APRIL is a member of the RGE group of companies,

“Our collaboration with IUCN strengthens APRIL’s science-based approach to landscape management and accelerates delivery of our APRIL2030 commitments. By combining global science with local action, this partnership enhances our conservation and restoration programs and engages a wider network of experts and stakeholders to achieve meaningful biodiversity outcomes,” he said.

Launched in 2020, APRIL2030 is the company’s decade-long sustainability commitment to deliver a positive impact on climate, nature and people while growing its business sustainably. Among other targets, the company seeks to attain net-zero carbon emissions from land use, positive measurable gains in nature and zero extreme poverty in surrounding communities, as it transforms its business for sustainable growth.

The IUCN-APRIL collaboration supports the delivery of the Global Biodiversity Framework, demonstrating how private sector engagement can align with international conservation priorities.