Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd. (APRIL), Indonesia’s second-largest pulp and paper producer, has announced a new environmental policy intended to address criticism of its forestry practices. The announcement came just days after the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, a group of 200 companies that have made commitments to greener business practices, threatened to kick APRIL out if it doesn’t reform its forestry practices and stop clearing rainforests and peatlands on the island of Sumatra.

In a ruling handed down last Wednesday, an Indonesian court found palm oil company Kallista Alam guilty of illegally clearing an area of protected peat forest that is home to endangered orangutans. The judge ordered the company to pay $30 (US) million in fines—$9.4 million in compensation and $20.6 million to restore damaged land in the protected Tripa peat swamp.

Indonesia has drafted a Memorandum of Understanding to renew collaborations with Singapore in an effort to prevent and reduce forest and land fires in Sumatra. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) in Singapore reached 401 during the summer of 2013—the highest PSI in the nation’s history and a level that can be life threatening for ill or elderly people. The smog has strained relations between Singapore and Indonesia, as pollution from the fires in Indonesia causes haze in both countries.

Singaporeans were urged to stay indoors last week as a haze from Indonesian forest fires dramatically worsened, with air pollution levels hitting their highest since 1997. The pollutant standards were above the "hazardous" level, at which point air quality can trigger respiratory ailments. Pollution from forest fires has hit Singapore and Malaysia often, but, according to The Guardian, this year's pollution has strained diplomatic ties as officials in Singapore demand that Jakarta do more to stop plantation owners from clearing land by starting fires.

The world's largest REDD+ project has been approved by the Indonesian government, establishing a 64,000 hectare protected forest area in the nation's central province. The project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 119 million tons over the course of its 30-year lifespan by preventing peatland drainage for conversion to oil palm plantations. According to the auditor who verified the project's carbon accounting, it reduced emissions by 2.1 million tons from 2009 to 2010, resulting in the highest number of credits ever verified in a single year.

A Toronto-based mining company said that it was working closely with the Indonesia government to remove the protected status of around 1.6 million hectares of forest on the Sumatra island. According to a group of Indonesian environmentalists, East Asia Minerals Corporation has hired Fadel Muhammad, former Golkar Deputy Chairman, to help convince the Aceh government to re-zone sections of the forest for a gold mine. The re-zoning proposal would include close to a million hectares for mining, over 400,000 for logging, and over 250,000 for oil palm plantations.

An investigation in Borneo cleared Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) of violating Indonesia's zero deforestation committment, but an analysis released by a coalition of environmental groups stated that the commitment will not provide any "real conservation benefits." An investigation by the Forest Trust followed allegations that two APP suppliers were actively clearing within two concession areas, which would put them "in clear violation of their commitment to APP’s forest conservation policy," according to a consortium of local NGOs.

A pledge by one of the world's largest paper companies to cease cutting down natural forests in Indonesia may be a sign of industry change, according to commentary from the World Resources Institute. Asia Pulp & Paper agreed earlier this month to change its practices and demand the same from its suppliers, a plan lauded by environmental NGOs. The company's new policy includes sourcing material from plantation grown trees, ceasing clearing of peatland, and engaging with local communities, and will affect the more than 2.5 million hectares managed by APP and its suppliers.

The Aceh province in Indonesia revoked a controversial palm oil permit issued to a firm accused of breaching a forest clearing ban. "It is important that there is rule of law in business and investing in Aceh, which provides benefits to the community," said the director of the Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment. Last May, Indonesia agreed to set a two-year moratorium on new permits to clear primary forests and peatlands as part of a $1 billion deal with Norway.

Indonesia and the European Union have reached a voluntary partnership agreement aimed at stopping trade in illegal timber, said Agus Sarsito, Director for International Cooperation at the Indonesia Ministry of Forestry. The agreement is expected to be signed by both sides in October. The pact, designed to protect the third largest tropical forest nation in the world, will likely make Indonesian timber more competitive in other markets, such as the United States, that have adopted illegal timber curbing policies, according to the EU.