Govt delays endorsing logging edict<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has delayed the issuance of a government
\nregulation in lieu of law (perpu) aimed at stopping illegal
\nlogging due to fears about its possible impact on the social and
\npolitical situations.<\/p>\n
The regulation, which was initially scheduled to be issued in
\nMay, was planned as an emergency measure to stop rampant illegal
\nlogging, which is considered the main factor behind the rapid
\ndestruction of the nation's virgin forests.<\/p>\n
Minister of Forestry Muhammad Prakosa said President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri had dropped plans to sign the regulation in May,
\nsaying that conditions were not conducive for the issuance of the
\nregulation and that the regulation could cause difficulties
\nduring the upcoming presidential election runoff.<\/p>\n
\"It's a matter of momentum. I think the government will
\nprobably issue it after the election. But we are still not sure
\nabout that yet,\" said Prakosa after a meeting with the Indonesian
\nAssociation of Forestry Enterprises (APHI) on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Prakosa explained that the draft regulation had been draft and
\nfinalized by the Ministry of Forestry, along with the State
\nSecretary, a couple of months ago.<\/p>\n
A government report estimates that illegal logging has left 43
\nmillion hectares of land in a critical condition and caused the
\nnation to lose US$3.5 billion worth of trees every year.<\/p>\n
The proposed regulation was expected to eventually be
\nconverted into a special law on illegal logging, outside the
\nprevailing criminal law, which is considered to have failed in
\npreventing illegal logging.<\/p>\n
According to Prakosa, the regulation would have enabled law
\nenforcement officials, under the command of the Ministry of
\nForestry, to prosecute illegal loggers immediately after they
\nwere arrested, and would allow the authorities to seize whatever
\nwas used in the crime, including vehicles and boats used to
\ntransport illegally cut logs.<\/p>\n
Those suspected of illegal logging activities would be tried
\nby an special court specifically set up to handle such cases,
\nwith convicted illegal loggers facing a maximum penalty of death.<\/p>\n
The law would also allow law enforcers to arrest suspected
\nillegal loggers based solely on intelligence reports.<\/p>\n
A number of environmentalists said they suspected the delay in
\nissuing the regulation was primarily intended as an incentive to
\nget the business community, including illegal logging businesses,
\nto fund the election campaign of a \"certain\" presidential
\ncandidate.<\/p>\n
Many illegal logging activities are reportedly backed up by
\nrogue elements of the armed forces and the police.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Prakosa said the ministry would soon issue a number
\nof incentives to encourage businesses to invest in plantation
\ntimber estates as part of the effort to develop sustainable
\ntimber resources for the forestry industry.<\/p>\n
Among the planned incentives were lifting the ban on the
\nexport of logs felled in plantation timber estates, simplifying
\nthe procedures for investing in the plantation timber sector, and
\nextending the length of the concessions plantation timber estates
\nto 100 years from the current 25 years.<\/p>\n
Concessionaires would also be freed of the obligation to seek
\napproval from the Ministry of Forestry for their annual
\nplantation operation plans. At present, such plans must be
\ndiscussed and approved by the ministry prior to their
\nimplementation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-delays-endorsing-logging-edict-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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