Changing forest policies fail to curb deforestation<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Every hour, loggers in Indonesia's forests fell trees at a rate
\nfast enough to lay out six FIFA-standard soccer fields in the
\ncleared area. Overnight, the expanse is the equivalent of South
\nJakarta's 145.75 hectares.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's tropical rainforests are disappearing, with only
\n28 percent of the total 162 million hectares of virgin forest
\nthat existed in the early 1950s -- or around 40 million hectares
\n-- remaining.<\/p>\n
Many observers blame the government's disregard for the
\nprinciples of sustainable development as the reason behind the
\nrapid shrinking of Indonesia's rainforests, which are the third
\nlargest in the world after the forests in Brazil and the Congo.<\/p>\n
A recent study by the World Bank revealed that Indonesia's
\ndeforestation rate had reached about two million hectares per
\nyear since 1996 as a result of reckless logging. Without
\nimmediate and drastic changes, the study predicted that Sumatra's
\nforests would disappear in 2005, followed by Kalimantan's in
\n2010.<\/p>\n
However, after over three decades of flawed forestry policies,
\n\"no significant effort has been made by the government to address
\nthe deforestation problem,\" said Indonesian Forum for the
\nEnvironment (Walhi) executive director Longgena Ginting.<\/p>\n
\"The government only treats the symptoms of the main issues by
\nmerely carrying out raids on illegal logging, smuggling, or
\nforming a task force to restructure the timber industry. Such
\nmeasures are useless,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
Illegal logging, according to Ginting, is an \"inevitable\"
\noccurrence due to the gap between timber supply and demand, as
\nwell as low domestic prices. The latter has encouraged smuggling.<\/p>\n
The government's response -- such as frequent raids and the
\narrest of smugglers -- barely touches the roots of the problem.<\/p>\n
The government established the Interdepartmental Committee on
\nForestry (IDCF) in 2000 to deal with illegal logging, handle
\nforest fires, manage the restructuring of forest-based businesses
\nas well as the mapping of forests. Since then, Indonesia has
\nseen four ministers of forestry, and yet nothing has been done to
\nrestore the forests. Illegal logging and smuggling remain a good
\nbusiness due to a continuing increase in demand.<\/p>\n
According to Ginting, the overblown capacity of industrial
\nlogging that results from a continuing increase in demand and the
\nuncertainty faced by concessionaires regarding the terms of their
\nobligation to manage and sustain the forest are the core of all
\nproblems related to deforestation.<\/p>\n
Led by Walhi, environmentalists have been campaigning for a
\ncessation in logging. They have also called for the reenactment
\nof the log export ban that was lifted in 1998 under the letter of
\nintent signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to give
\na breathing space for the government to change forestry sector
\npolicies and to save the diminishing forests.<\/p>\n
In response, the associations of plywood and pulp and paper
\nproducers have demanded that the government rescue the industries
\non the grounds that they contribute 9.29 percent out of 12.25
\npercent, or about 75 percent, of the country's non-oil\/gas
\nforeign exchange earnings.<\/p>\n
The demand has met strong criticism, especially as many of the
\nplywood and pulp and paper companies are deep in debt.
\nCurrently, the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) is
\nhandling the sale of the assets of 128 forest-based companies to
\ncover their Rp 21.9 trillion (US$24.7 billion) foreign debt,
\ntagging the price at a mere 20 percent of their nominal value.<\/p>\n
Ginting expressed fear that such treatment might not benefit
\nefforts to restructure forest-based industries because it opened
\nup the possibility of former owners reclaiming the companies and
\nrunning them as before.<\/p>\n
Ginting said that not all of the companies deserved to be
\nrescued due to their poor performance in sustainable forestry. He
\nsuggested the government salvage assets now in the hands of IBRA
\nonly after tight screening to determine the companies that
\ndeserved to be bailed out.<\/p>\n
\"I suggest the government determine what companies deserve to
\nbe kept alive through a due diligence mechanism carried out by an
\nindependent party. Only those companies that have potential,
\nsustain the ecology and promote social development should pass
\nthe selection process,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/changing-forest-policies-fail-to-curb-deforestation-1447893297",
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