Governors, businessmen reject policy on reforestation fees<\/p>\n
Mikael Setiawan and Rusman, The Jakarta Post, Balikpapan\/Samarinda<\/p>\n
Governors and businessmen in Kalimantan demanded on Tuesday that
\nthe Minister of Forestry revoke a government decree that obliges
\nlogging companies to pay a reforestation fee to the government.<\/p>\n
The decree, which took effect last year, has placed a huge
\nburden on businessmen and discouraged them from investing in the
\nforestry sector, which would in turn reduce revenue for the
\nregional governments, they said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n
The statement was made after a meeting in the East Kalimantan
\ncapital of Balikpapan, which was attended by dozens of
\nbusinessmen as well as four governors of Kalimantan island.<\/p>\n
They were Suwarna, the governor of East Kalimantan, Asmawi A.
\nGani, the governor of Central Kalimantan, Sjachril Darham, the
\ngovernor of South Kalimantan and Usman Dja'far, the governor of
\nWest Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
The decree in question was issued by the minister of forestry
\nlast year. It obliges the businessmen to pay a certain amount
\ninto a reforestation fund to the central government, in addition
\nto the forest concession fund.<\/p>\n
The amount to be paid by the businesses varies, depending on
\nthe size of the concession and the type of the trees.<\/p>\n
Suwarna said that the decree had burdened local forestry
\ncompanies, which may badly affect their employees.<\/p>\n
The decree, they claimed had also discouraged investors from
\npouring money into the province, in turn hampering the local
\ngovernment's program to create new job opportunities.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mamat Mulyana, the chairman of the West
\nKalimantan's Forestry Businessmen's Association, said that many
\nbusinessmen in the province were unable to pay the fee, due to
\nslow business in the past three years.<\/p>\n
Separately, the joint statement drew a backlash on the same
\nday from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) East
\nKalimantan chapter. Syarifudin, the executive director of Walhi
\nin East Kalimantan, said that the government decree was proper,
\nand it had to be supported.<\/p>\n
He regretted that the companies were unwilling to pay the
\nreforestation fee. By refusing to pay the reforestation fee, the
\ncompanies had failed to support the reforestation program of the
\ngovernment, he said.<\/p>\n
"We regret it. The reforestation program is very important to
\nprevent forest destruction, but the companies apparently are
\nunwilling to support it," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/governors-businessmen-reject-policy-on-reforestation-fees-1447893297",
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