Govt to revoke another timber concessions<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Forestry plans to revoke the operating licenses
\nof 13 industrial timber plantation companies for failing to
\ncomply with sustainable production requirements.<\/p>\n
Spokesman of the ministry Koes Saparjadi told The Jakarta Post
\non Wednesday that the move was part of the ministry's policy to
\nrestructure the country's industrial timber plantation
\nconcessionaires into an efficient and effective timber source.<\/p>\n
"Currently, we are in the final stages of completing the
\nrevocation on the 13 companies. Hopefully, we can publish the
\nresults at the end of this month," said Koes, who refused to name
\nthe concessionaires.<\/p>\n
The ministry took similar action against 14 companies in the
\nmiddle of last month, creating resentment among industry players.<\/p>\n
A week after the decision, 13 concessionaires took their cases
\nto the Jakarta Administrative Court for settlement.<\/p>\n
The ministry was greatly disappointed after the court
\nsuspended the ministry's move, accepting the pleas of 11
\nconcessionaires.<\/p>\n
However, Koes said that the court's ruling had yet to be
\nfinalized and litigation could still be on the way.<\/p>\n
He added that the ministry would not be discouraged over the
\ncourt's ruling in punishing bad concessionaires.<\/p>\n
The proposed 13 concessionaires, whose licenses will be
\nrevoked, have been awarded concessions covering a total area of
\nsome 900,000 hectares.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, spokesman for the Association of Indonesian Forest
\nConcessionaires (APHI), who also heads the advocacy division at
\nthe association, Riza Suarga, voiced criticism of the ministry's
\nmove.<\/p>\n
Riza said that the ministry's decision was biased because
\nthere were still a lot of bad concessionaires that deserved to be
\npunished severely.<\/p>\n
"Minister Prakosa seems to have been misled by a report. He
\nshould check the actual situation regarding concessionaires in
\nthe field to get an accurate picture," said Riza, referring to
\nMinister of Forestry M. Prakosa.<\/p>\n
The assessment to determine whether concessionaires should
\ncontinue operating was based only on a self-assessment report
\nsubmitted by each concessionaire. The reports cover the
\ncompanies' operational and financial position.<\/p>\n
The reports were then assessed by a special team under the
\ndirectorate general of forest production development at the
\nMinistry of Forestry.<\/p>\n
Riza feared that the ruling would result in massive layoffs in
\nthe forestry industry. It was estimated that the ruling would
\ncause about 28,000 people to lose their jobs, in both the
\ndownstream and upstream parts of the industry.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-revoke-another-timber-concessions-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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