Blogger vs. Logger: One Man's Quest to Save the Rainforest

Between them, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) and Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) control 80 percent of the controversial Indonesian paper industry, which means that these two companies are some of the world’s leading forest destroyers. Both have active global advertising campaigns to attempt to cover up their destructive habits.

But one Silicon Valley blogger is determined to expose their dirty secrets.

Rhett Butler is the founder and lead blogger of Mongabay.com, one of the world’s only blogs focusing exclusively on forests. As a child, Butler was lucky enough to travel the world, and fell in love with rainforests. Now, he runs a blog dedicated both to education and reporting around some of the world’s most beloved ecosystems.

Last year, Butler drove a campaign that helped stop the export of rosewood from Madagascar, helping to halt the destruction of the Galapagos-like island rainforests. The site has also spurred activism and broader coverage around forest issues in places around the world.

“Mongabay's reporting sometimes seems to lead to subsequent broader coverage by mainstream media,” Butler wrote me in an email interview.

“For example, our extensive coverage of John Cain Carter's efforts to transform the way cattle are produced in the Amazon has helped make media outlets aware of his work. Over the past couple of years, his efforts have received a lot of press.  We've done the same with a logging project in Cameroon and are closely watching a plan to build a second-hand coal-fired power plant in Malaysian Borneo.  Each year Mongabay recognizes a group that is doing under-acknowledged (we feel) work somewhere in the world. This year I chose two groups in Sulawesi in order to highlight an amazing island that most Americans can't even place on a map.”

Now, he’s gotten fed up with seeing advertising campaigns by companies that he knows from first-hand experience are lying.

“I've been aware of the accusations against APP for years, but it really bubbled up on my radar when I started getting barraged by emails making very dubious claims, which held up less and less, the closer I looked.  As a journalist I am used to seeing spin, but I get annoyed when people or companies outright lie to me, so that provided some motivation.  However most of my motivation comes from my interest in wildlife and nature and my desire to see people treated fairly.”

This week, he posted a scathing article on his site systematically ripping down the Indonesian paper companies’ claims that their industry alleviates poverty, one of their most oft-repeated arguments. Through his own research and analysis, Butler demonstrates that the logging companies' business models are bad for local people as well as the environment, creating at best only temporary employment, and ripping away the natural resources locals rely on for long-term survival.

Instead, APP is focused on sending out bogus press releases while continuing to exploit wildlife areas containing some of the last Sumatran tigers on Earth.

“APP is clearly hurting from losing some major customers,” he explained in his email. APP has in recent years lost contracts with purchasing giants that include Staples, Office Depot, Fed-Ex Kinko’s, Corporate Express, Gucci Group, Tiffany & Co., H&M and Unisource, as a result of environmental campaigns to stop Indonesian forest destruction.

“What it should be doing is looking at its operations to see where it can do better...But instead APP seems to be embracing the marketing approach, which doesn't really fix anything. It's clear that the private sector will have a central role in the wise use and stewardship of natural resources, so it’s a shame that APP seems to be obstructing this positive role. With its extensive holdings and political power, APP should be leading Indonesia's transition toward an economy based on responsible use of resources. What APP is doing doesn't look much like leadership.”

Butler’s writing is true online activism. He is helping dispel the company's version of reality and encouraging others to take action. His quest to publish the information that company’s don’t want seen pushes them to do better and, at the same time, helps consumer companies know more about what they’re buying.

Want to help him out? Take a minute to sign our petition asking APP to take real action to stop cutting down forests. He’ll definitely appreciate it, and so will the forests.

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