An unending battle against illegal logging<\/p>\n
By Tertiani Z.B. Simanjuntak<\/p>\n
LANGKAT, North Sumatra (JP): The chirping hum of small forest
\ncreatures is suddenly replaced by the whining sound of chain saws
\nripping through their home.<\/p>\n
In broad daylight a dozen men cut down trees, looting the best
\nthat nature has to offer. They go deep into the conservation area
\nwith no forest ranger nor policeman in sight.<\/p>\n
They are armed.<\/p>\n
A few days pass, four trucks laden with timber leave the area
\nand drive smoothly, passing check points with ease, after all
\ntheir documents have been examined. Officials let the trucks pass
\nwith little fuss made.<\/p>\n
All is in order.<\/p>\n
The elements of the description above are very much an
\neveryday reality.<\/p>\n
More specifically, it is a capsule of what has been going on
\nfor the last five years at the two-million-hectare Leuser
\nEcosystem Area, which encompasses the Gunung Leuser National Park
\nthat stretches across the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"An estimated 12,000 hectares of the area has been stripped by
\nillegal logging in the past six months alone,\" one of the co-
\ndirectors of the ecosystem's management, Mike Griffiths, said.<\/p>\n
\"It's still going on...it's quiet serious, it should be
\nreviewed,\" he said, during a meeting at the management unit's
\noffice in Medan, North Sumatra, with members of the ecosystem's
\nstakeholders, the European Union (EU) and several non-
\ngovernmental organizations (NGOs).<\/p>\n
His Indonesian partner, Ali Basyah Amin, cited economic
\nhardship, lack of law enforcement and rising political tension in
\nAceh as some of the reasons that have forced residents to move to
\nthe forests and perpetuate illegal logging in the area.<\/p>\n
\"In just one year, some 200 households of displaced Acehnese
\nhave begun to live in the forest in the central part of Southeast
\nAceh, while another 500 households are now in the part near
\nLangkat. We're still trying to relocate them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Illegal logging, an often overlooked violation in the past,
\nhas become a national problem that has far greater repercussions
\nthan the immediate financial loss to the state.<\/p>\n
The Asian Development Bank revealed that Indonesian forests
\nproduce between 33 million and 75 million cubic meters of timber
\nper year, while a sustainable yield is estimated at about 22
\nmillion cubic meters per year.<\/p>\n
It has become a particularly serious concern as the Leuser
\necosystem is the last place where various species of near-extinct
\nelephants, rhinoceros, tigers, clouded leopards and orangutans
\nare found together.<\/p>\n
The ecosystem, which ensures a sustainable water supply for
\nthe seven surrounding regions, is also home to hundreds of
\nspecies of animals and plants that includes the largest flower in
\nthe world, the rafflesia and the tallest flower, the
\namorphophallus.<\/p>\n
Now, they are threatened by illegal encroachment and loss of
\nhabitat.<\/p>\n
Environmental watchdogs, based on their investigations, claim
\nthat local timber barons encourage communities to break the law
\nby providing loggers with chain saws and loans for food and
\nsupplies.<\/p>\n
Bogor-based Telapak Indonesia executive Arbi Valentinus has
\ndemanded an immediate investigation and prosecution of sawmill
\nowners proved to have acted illegally.<\/p>\n
\"If necessary, the government should issue an export
\nmoratorium of particular logs,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another NGO, Yayasan Leuser Lestari, suggested giving locals
\nan alternative way to earn their living that would discourage
\nthem from accepting offers to cut down trees illegally for Rp
\n15,000 or Rp 20,000 per day.<\/p>\n
In their discussions with an EU delegation, the local
\nadministration and police seemed to be at odds with whose
\nresponsibility it was to resolve the situation.<\/p>\n
North Sumatra Governor Tengku Rizal Nurdin said his office had
\nplaced priority on relocating displaced Acehnese from the
\necosystem area to South Sumatra, which had agreed to accept them.<\/p>\n
\"I don't believe the Acehnese clear forests. Moreover, the
\nperpetrators are in small numbers...they're jobless and need to
\nfeed their family. So what can we do?\"<\/p>\n
\"However, I have asked the police and military to make sure
\nthe area is free from such illegal activities. On this occasion,
\nI would also like to ask Jakarta to give us special authority to
\nhelp safeguard the ecosystem,\" he told the EU delegation.<\/p>\n
Nurdin further emphasized that it is the police's
\nresponsibility to prevent illegal logging.<\/p>\n
\"It depends on the chief of police to help the government
\nfight it...we're not part of the chain of command,\" he said.<\/p>\n
North Sumatra Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Ismerda Lebang
\nsaid the force had done their best by stifling the delivery of
\nthe trucks carrying stolen logs.<\/p>\n
Aceh deputy governor Abubakar Azwar argued that since 78
\npercent of the ecosystem area is located in Aceh, it is
\nunderstandable that locals seek benefit from the protected area.<\/p>\n
\"But you cannot say that we have done nothing. Last March we
\nrevoked forest concessions,\" he said, adding that \"it's too
\ndifficult to eradicate the crime, because companies do both
\nillegal and legal logging at the same time.\"<\/p>\n
To get things organized, the European Union's executive body,
\nthe European Commission (EC), has granted two million euros to
\nthe forestry ministry to finance the establishment of an illegal
\nlogging response center in the next three years.<\/p>\n
The center would gather and disseminate information on the
\ncrime and help NGOs launch legal action against illegal loggers.<\/p>\n
It will also serve as a think-tank to overcome the cause of
\nillegal logging throughout the country.<\/p>\n
\"We've got to do something, so therefore there should be no
\nmore licenses for those who abuse it,\" EC Ambassador Sabato Della
\nMonica said.<\/p>\n
\"We also expect the prosecution against not only those who
\nhave held the chain saw but also the masterminds behind it.\"<\/p>\n
The grant is an additional assistance on top of the 32.5
\nmillion euros in a seven-year cooperation with the Indonesian
\ngovernment to sustain the Leuser ecosystem.<\/p>\n
The forestry's ministry director general of forest protection
\nand nature conservation, Wahjudi Wardojo, expressed hope that the
\ncenter would become a great help to seek the best way to pool
\nstrength to stop illegal logging.<\/p>",
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