Another tragedy in Aceh: Illegal logging<\/p>\n
Contributor to The Jakarta Post Riedo Panaligan is a recipient of
\nthe 2005 Journalism Fellowship Program of the Bangkok-based
\nSoutheast Asian Press Alliance. From Banda Aceh he has filed a
\nspecial report on illegal logging in Aceh province, plus related
\nissues. His report is covers this page and the facing page.<\/p>\n
\"We heard a big sound and ran away as fast as we could,\" said
\nSahbudin, describing how he and his family in Aceh Tenggara
\nmanaged to escape the ravaging mixture of water, mountain rocks
\nand cut logs that cascaded down Leuser mountains on the night of
\nApril 27, 2005.<\/p>\n
The district of Aceh Tenggara is the latest site of flash
\nfloods in Aceh province. Nineteen people are confirmed dead and
\nmore than 100 families from five villages, including Lawe
\nMengduku where Sahbudin lives, have been greatly affected. Houses
\nand farms have been destroyed and logs are everywhere.<\/p>\n
According to Sahbudin, he was not surprised why such a
\ncalamity befell their villages. Erosion and flash floods happen
\nin Aceh Tenggara every year.<\/p>\n
Six chiefs of the villages that have been affected by the 2003
\nflash flood already wrote a letter on May 26, 2004 to then
\nGovernor Abdullah Puteh to act in order to stop logging
\nactivities inside the protected area, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
They say unless logging is stopped, disasters will never stop
\nin Aceh Tenggara.<\/p>\n
\"It's obvious,\" said Yashud Hutapea, coordinator of the
\nIndonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) in Aceh Tenggara,
\n\"that rampant logging inside the Leuser Ecosystem is the culprit
\nof the flash floods.\"<\/p>\n
WALHI already recorded five reports of major landslides and
\nflash floods in Aceh alone after the tsunami and a total of 143
\ncases for the province since 2000.<\/p>\n
Misery seems reluctant to leave Aceh. Decades-long war,
\ntsunamis and, lately, rampant illegal logging as a result of
\nhigher demand for raw materials, especially wood, for
\nreconstruction of tsunami-stricken areas, have taken their toll.<\/p>\n
Huge timber demand<\/p>\n
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) here are sending
\nwarnings to the authorities not to sacrifice too readily the
\nremaining forests of Indonesia under the guise of rehabilitating
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
\"We must be careful in addressing the situation, or else we
\nwill just invite other disasters to occur,\" said Bambang
\nAntariksan from Walhi Aceh.<\/p>\n
It is estimated that the minimum wood requirement needed for
\nthe reconstruction and rehabilitation of Aceh, which is foreseen
\nto last for five years, is 1.1 million cubic meters (m3) of logs,
\nequivalent to 446,000 m3 of sawn timber. Such a huge timber
\nrequirement will worsen the already sorry state of the forests of
\nAceh and nearby provinces.<\/p>\n
Logging activities in Aceh are currently concentrated in the
\ndistricts of Aceh Besar, Aceh Tenggara, Aceh Singkil and Aceh
\nTimur, which, coincidentally, are areas where there are
\nconservation sites or places covered by the Leuser Ecosystem, one
\nof the richest bastions of tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Aside from Aceh, wood that was used in the emergency and
\nrelief phase for tsunami-stricken areas also came from the
\nprovinces of North Sumatra, Raui and Jambi, which also have
\ntragic histories of erosion and flash floods.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is home to 10 percent of the world's tropical
\nforests, but it also has the highest rate of deforestation, with
\nabout three million hectares of forest lost every year.<\/p>\n
Eden in peril<\/p>\n
The Leuser Ecosystem, approximately 2.6 million hectares of
\ntropical rainforest, is home to some of the most unique wildlife
\nin the world like endemic species of tigers, elephants and
\nrhinoceros, orangutans, hornbills, cloud leopards and the world's
\nlargest flower, the rafflesia.<\/p>\n
It has nurtured generations of some of Sumatra's major ethnic
\ngroups like the Gayo, Alas, Acehnese, Batak, Pakpak, Karo,
\nSingkil and Malay. Moreover, some four million people depend
\ndirectly on this area as their water source.<\/p>\n
Right in the heart of the ecosystem is the Gunung Leuser
\nNational Park, a world heritage site as declared by the United
\nNations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
\n(UNESCO). There are also nature parks and wildlife reserves
\nlocated within the Ecosystem.<\/p>\n
The Leuser Ecosystem is declared a protected forest by the
\nIndonesian government, but still is one of the most exploited
\nareas in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Due to the proliferation of logging activities during the
\n1990s, a logging stoppage was imposed in the whole province in
\n2001. Still, illegal logging continued.<\/p>\n
The logging moratorium was lifted on September 2004 by then
\ngovernor Abdullah Puteh, who is now in jail for corruption.
\nHowever, as early as January 2004, logging permits were issued to
\ndifferent companies for the utilization of the forests of Aceh.<\/p>\n
A total of 47 companies were granted licenses for use and
\nfelling of forest (IPHHKs) by the Aceh forestry office in 2004,
\nwith total target wood production for a year amounting to
\n116,203.82 m3 or the equivalent of more than 46,000 trees. This
\nis almost 150 percent higher than the 47,500 m3 legally allowed
\ncapacity during the past years.<\/p>\n
Logging lawful, or not?<\/p>\n
Based on reports from different journalists and NGOs, there is
\nvirtually no way of knowing which of these logging companies
\noperating in Aceh is legal or illegal. Permits are not displayed
\nin public and logging companies have the habit of transferring
\ntheir areas of operation from time to time.<\/p>\n
Logging activities in Aceh are also being conducted in places
\nclassified as conflict areas. In many instances, media coverage
\nin these areas is very limited.<\/p>\n
According to Husaini Syamaun, Forest Use and Utilization
\nDivision head at the Aceh's forestry office, \"Even with permits,
\nlogging activities are only permitted in production and limited
\nproduction forests.\"<\/p>\n
\"No logging is allowed inside protected forests and
\nconservation areas,\" he said. \"The government is striving to
\nattain the vision of becoming a Green Province,\" he further
\nstressed.<\/p>\n
Of the 47 companies that have been granted an IPHHK, 22 have
\nexpired permits; yet, they continue to operate.<\/p>\n
In the district of Aceh Tenggara, where the heart of Gunung
\nLeuser Natural Park can be found, more than 90 percent of its
\nforest cover is classified as protected forest. Only 289 hectares
\nof forest are attributed to production purposes.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Aceh forestry office gave 10 private companies
\nthe right to log, with each company operating in a minimum of 100
\nhectares.<\/p>\n
After the tsunami, logging activities seem to be on the rise.
\nAccording to Yashud, loggers also tend to justify their actions
\nas part of the rehabilitation for Aceh.<\/p>\n
Even the villagers in Aceh Tenggara attest that trucks that
\nbrought logs or processed wood during the early months after the
\ntsunami from outside the district have signs like \"For the
\nRehabilitation of Aceh\".<\/p>\n
From two trips a week before the tsunami, trucks now make
\nthree to four trips carrying processed wood away from the Aceh
\nTenggara district. In one trip, at least five trucks transport 12
\nm3 to 15 cubic m3 of sawn timber.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the wood coming out of here is first-class,\" Yashud
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said tropical hardwood trees like semaram, merbau, kruing
\nand meranti are favorites of loggers because they peg a very high
\nprice on the international market, around Rp 18 million
\n(US$1,800) per m3.<\/p>\n
\"That's why most of the wood here is not really going to
\nAceh,\" said Yashud, \"but is being exported illegally outside the
\ncountry.\"<\/p>\n
Lucrative business<\/p>\n
The logging situation in Aceh Tenggara mirrors the current
\nsituation of the forests in the province generally.<\/p>\n
Logging is a very lucrative business in Aceh and benefits
\ninfluential individuals and even security personnel.<\/p>\n
From the capital town of Kutacane to the border of North
\nSumatra, more than three military checkpoints and barracks have
\nbeen set up along the main highway of Aceh Tenggara; two or more
\nlarge trucks transporting wood in the middle of the night are
\ntherefore hard to miss.<\/p>\n
According to the affected villagers of the recent flash flood,
\nlocal government staff went to their area days after the flash
\nflood and facilitated the selection of logs in good condition
\nlittered on the river banks. They were warned not to get the logs
\nor else they would be prosecuted.<\/p>\n
This happened to 11 villagers from Lawe Gerger who tried to
\nget a few logs and ended up in jail. Their relatives testify that
\nthey are not illegal loggers, just farmers who wanted to get some
\nlogs. Some of them are still in jail.<\/p>\n
Aceh Tenggara regent Armen Dusky denied allegations that he
\nwas involved in the illicit business, saying, \"I support the
\nGreen Province vision.\"<\/p>\n
He vowed to protect the Leuser Natural Park and would never
\ntolerate destructive activities inside the protected forest,
\nunlike what some groups had been portraying about him.<\/p>\n
\"I also want our forest to be protected,\" said Armen.<\/p>\n
Blind Eye<\/p>\n
Illegal logging activities have become more tolerable and
\napprehension for such activities has relaxed after the tsunami.<\/p>\n
Aceh Police chief Gen. Bachrumsyah Kasman admitted that they
\nhad temporarily stopped their campaign against illegal logging to
\ngive way to the emergency and relief phase for Aceh.<\/p>\n
He said that the Vice President Jusuf Kalla had asked him to
\ntake it easy with the apprehension of undocumented transport of
\nwood because Aceh province needed whatever wood it could get.<\/p>\n
The Aceh forestry office still has no working monitoring
\nscheme to ensure that only companies with a permit will operate
\ninside areas designated for logging activities.<\/p>\n
Even Kuntoro Mangkasubroto, head of the Bureau of
\nRehabilitation and Reconstruction for Aceh and Nias Island, is
\nalso resigned to the issue because of the huge timber requirement
\nneeded for the province.<\/p>\n
\"I don't support illegal logging. Illegal is illegal, period,\"
\nsaid Kunturo. \"But if they give it for free (illegal logs), I
\nwill gladly accept,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Construction of roads going to isolated areas is being pushed
\nhard, specifically the controversial Ladia Galaska Project. The
\nproject is a series of roads that will connect the western and
\nnorthern coasts of Aceh and pass directly through the heart of
\nthe Leuser ecosystem.<\/p>\n
The project received major opposition from different sectors
\nbecause it will give easier access for logging and lead to the
\nfurther degradation of the Leuser Ecosystem.<\/p>\n
Just recently, bidding for construction firms was held in
\nBanda Aceh to build roads that are part of the Ladia Galaska
\nProject. This shows that the project is still ongoing.<\/p>\n
New hope<\/p>\n
Currently, different groups are seeking solutions to stop the
\ndegradation of Aceh's natural resources while also answering the
\nneeds of the victims of the tsunami.<\/p>\n
Recently, research institution Greenomics Indonesia and
\nconservation group the World Wildwide Fund for Nature (WWF)
\nlaunched the Timber for Aceh Program, which aims to convince
\ndonor countries to donate nontropical timber to Aceh.<\/p>\n
It gained local and international support, and no less than
\nAceh's acting governor Azwar Abubakar himself is pursuing donor
\ninstitutions to donate timber to support the Green Province
\nvision for Aceh.<\/p>\n
Initially, 50 container loads of timber from the United
\nStates, enough to build 1,200 houses, are expected to arrive in
\nAceh within this month.<\/p>\n
Some sustainable ideas being implemented by different groups
\nhere in Aceh came directly from the victims themselves.<\/p>\n
One group, the Muslim Aid Foundation (MAF) is currently
\nbuilding Acehnese houses for different coastal communities
\naffected by the tsunami. According to MAF's Aceh Director
\nFadlullah Wilmot, the houses they are building are a bit modified
\nto render them more economically viable and environment-friendly.<\/p>\n
Materials are made from sustainable materials. House posts are
\nmade of old coconut trunks, walls of woven bamboo and roofs of
\npalm or sagu leaves. These houses use wooden joints instead of
\nnails to ensure better protection against earthquakes.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody is taking a part in building the houses. Men do the
\ncarpentry while the women and children weave the roofs. They are
\nworking as a family,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We just asked them and they told us what they want to do,\"
\nsaid Fadlullah on how they came up with the idea of building such
\nhouses.<\/p>\n
For years, Aceh has received more than its share of natural
\nand manmade disasters.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reason, the impact of disasters can only be
\nminimized, if a community-supported resource management program
\nis integrated as part of the rehabilitation and reconstruction
\nprogram of Aceh.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, the greater tragedy of unsustainable reconstruction
\nand rehabilitation will continue to weigh most heavily on
\nvillagers like Sahbudin who, like all the people of Aceh, just
\nwants to live happily and in peace.<\/p>",
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