Illegal logging goes on unabated<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba and Rusman, Jayapura\/Samarinda<\/p>\n
Illegal logging continues unchecked in East Kalimantan province
\nand Papua, Indonesia's westernmost province, sparking fears among
\ngovernment officials and environmentalists that pristine forests
\nin the two provinces will soon disappear.<\/p>\n
The officials and environmentalists acknowledge it is
\ndifficult to stop illegal logging due to the vast size of the
\nforests, weak law enforcement and the involvement of security and
\ngovernment officials in illegal logging operations.<\/p>\n
\"There should be an immediate and concerted effort to combat
\nillegal logging, otherwise environmental catastrophe will soon
\nhit the country, especially Papua,\" said Victor Benja, a senior
\nofficial at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), who is based in
\nPapua.<\/p>\n
In the first quarter of this year alone, the Papua Police have
\nhandled three illegal logging cases, confiscating 142 pieces of
\nheavy machinery and 76,205 cubic meters of logs.<\/p>\n
The logs and pieces of machinery, including chain saws, were
\nseized in Teluk Bintuni and Nabire regencies in February and
\nMarch of this year. Between 2001 and 2003, the Papua Police have
\nhandled 19 cases of illegal logging, seizing some 100,000 cubic
\nmeters of logs and 250 pieces of heavy machinery. The police have
\nnamed 68 suspects in the cases, 42 of them Malaysian nationals.<\/p>\n
The head of the Papua Forestry Office, Marthen Kayoi,
\nacknowledged his officials were unable to do much to stop illegal
\nlogging due to the size of Papua's forests.<\/p>\n
\"The forests in Papua are vast, while at the same time, we
\nhave a limited budget. We need more funds and more employees to
\noversee Papua's forests,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Jayapura Legal Aid Foundation chairman Pascalis Letsoin said
\njudges in Papua often handed down lenient sentences to illegal
\nloggers, which failed to deter them from repeating their crime.<\/p>\n
Last, security personnel and government officials are often
\ninvolved in the illegal logging, making it impossible to stop the
\nillegal activity.<\/p>\n
According to information from the Papua Police, police
\npersonnel in Sorong regency were allegedly involved in illegal
\nlogging in 2001. Reportedly, the Sorong Water and Air Police
\narrested the crew of the ship the MV Africa in the waters of
\nSorong in 2001, seizing 21,000 cubic meters of illegally cut
\nlogs.<\/p>\n
The ship was impounded and the crew taken to the Sorong Police
\nstation for questioning. However, several days later, the crew,
\nthe ship and the logs had all disappeared.<\/p>\n
The National Police investigated the case and investigators
\nnamed six police officers as suspects, including then Sorong
\nPolice chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Faisal. The six are still awaiting
\ntrial.<\/p>\n
Illegal logging also concerns officials in East Kalimantan
\nprovince. During last month alone, the East Kalimantan Police
\nhave arrested 19 suspected illegal loggers.<\/p>\n
Most of the suspects were arrested for the misuse of logging
\ndocuments.<\/p>\n
Comr. Eny Widiastuti, spokesman for the East Kalimantan
\nPolice, said many of the suspects had interisland trading
\ndocuments, allowing them to ship and sell logs only in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
But the suspects were allegedly transporting the logs abroad.
\nMany of the suspects were arrested as they traveled to Malaysian
\nterritory with shiploads of logs, she said.<\/p>\n
Police confiscated 18,605 logs and heavy machinery from the
\nsuspects, including three trucks and two chain saws.<\/p>",
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