Indonesia - Despite allegations of illegal logging, a local pulp and paper company's proven performance in sustainably managing its industrial forests in Riau has been seen it maintain a much sort-after eco-friendly stamp of approval.

But Indonesian Greenomics said PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (Riaupulp) had been less than transparent with the supply source of its raw materials, prompting the civil society to become suspicious of the company's involvement in Indonesia's rampant illegal logging business.

"The company's supply of logs as raw material to its mills has drastically increased to 9 million tons in 2006 from four million tons in 2005," Greenomics coordinator Vanda Meutia said.

"But it has never been transparent about from where its mills (received) its logs."

Vanda said illegal logging was rampant throughout the province, with at least two pulp and paper mills smuggling timber to Europe, China and India through Singapore.

But Riaupulp underwent a surveillance audit conducted by foreign agencies and came out holding on to a certificate the paper industry refers to as an eco-label.

After receiving the award, Riaupulp management denied reports it had supplied illegal logs stolen from the province's rainforests, national parks and other protected forests.

"Based on the result of the comprehensive surveillance audit, we appreciate Riaupulp's strong commitment to adopt and develop the sustainable industrial forest management," executive director of the Indonesian Ecolabel Intitution (LEI) Taufiq Alimi said.

"The company was audited from the production, social and environmental aspects," he said as he awarded their certificate Tuesday.

Alimi said Riaupulp was the only company being re-awarded the certificate, which it won for the fist time in March 2006.

Riaupulp won the award this year due to its management of 159,500 hectares of industrial forests in Pelalawan regency, Riau.

Alimi said the mill had cooperated well with locals in the regency to manage the industrial forests.

He said Riaupulp had also formed partnerships with international agencies including WWF and the UN's Environmental Program (UNEP) to help preserve rainforests and national parks in the province.

The company put aside part of its annual profit for its corporate social responsibility program to empower locals living around the mills and protected forests.

Riaupulp's president and director Rudi Fajar denied reports his mills had supplied illegal logged wood from protected forests and national parks in the province.

He said the certificate proved his company's products were processed from raw materials supplied from industrial forests.

"To make sure Riaupulp has not supplied raw materials from the black market, we have undergone a wood tracking assessment which is annually conducted by the Malaysian SGS in cooperation with WWF," Rudi said.

"And an internal audit of our industrial forest management was been conducted by Britain-based Pro-Forest."

He said his company had developed a mosaic plantation concept to preserve the rich biodiversity and maintain high conservation-valued forests in the province.

It has also allocated 20 percent of its industrial forests for conservation.

Several forestry companies under the coordination of Riaupulp have forged partnerships with WWF to grow the 60,000-hectare Tesso Nilo National Park to some 100,000 hectares. The project should help preserve endangered species like the Sumatran tiger and the province's elephants, Rudi said.