Illegal logging not just about smuggling timber<\/p>\n
Krystof Obidzinski, Bogor<\/p>\n
Barely a day goes by without a story appearing in the
\nIndonesian media about illegal logging. Often these stories
\nbemoan the loss of timber smuggled on boats out of Papua, trucked
\nacross the Kalimantan-Sarawak border, or ferried through Riau's
\nlabyrinthine archipelago.<\/p>\n
Preventing timber smuggling is vital. But the intense media
\nfocus it receives blinds the public to other important issues in
\nthe war against illegal logging.<\/p>\n
One thing the media could do is tell the public about how
\nforestry laws are broken daily by licensed forestry operations.<\/p>\n
Illegal activities by \"legal\" operators are wide-spread. Their
\nimpact is devastating -- both on Indonesia's forests and on the
\nhundreds of thousands of Indonesians who live in or near them.<\/p>\n
Recent research by the Center for International Forestry
\nResearch (CIFOR) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in the Berau
\nand East Kutai Districts of East Kalimantan has identified a
\nwhole range of illegal practices rarely addressed by the media.<\/p>\n
One common ruse companies use is to pretend they are
\ntemporarily closed-down. In reality their chain saws are
\ndecapitating trees as fast as they can.<\/p>\n
CIFOR and TNC's research revealed one Berau company cut 58,784
\ncubic meters of logs in 2004, despite its logging permit (IPKTM)
\nexpiring in 2003. This cost the district government Rp 11.5
\nbillion in lost taxes that could have been spent on improving
\nhealth facilities, schools and other job generating activities.<\/p>\n
Another scam is the \"plantation hoax\", where companies get
\nrich by promising to develop oil palm plantations in return for a
\nlogging license.<\/p>\n
Between 1997 and 2001 one company in Berau clear cut 9,500
\nhectares of forest -- that's about 23,000 soccer pitches or Monas
\nPark multiplied by 95 -- and then didn't plant a single palm.<\/p>\n
It then failed to pay the district government most of the Rp
\n53.4 billion taxes owed on the timber it cut down.<\/p>\n
Kompas newspaper reported last year that fictitious oil palm
\nschemes caused state losses of Rp. 3.5 trillion across East
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
CIFOR and TNC's research also revealed that timber companies
\nunderstate production figures and manipulate shipping records.
\nSince 2000, the annually reported shipment of sawn timber from
\nBerau was 20,000 cubic meters higher than the reported production
\nof sawn timber. This is a serious level of under-reporting.<\/p>\n
The true magnitude of the under-reporting becomes clear when
\nthe real production and shipping of sawn timber in Berau is
\ncompared with actual sawmill output, not reported output.
\nResearch shows real production is 5-7 times higher than the
\nofficial figure. The situation is similar in Kutai.<\/p>\n
As suggested earlier, the cost to the district governments in
\nlost revenue is enormous. In 2003, Berau district alone lost over
\nRp. 100 billion in unpaid Reforestation Funds (DR), Forest
\nResource Rent Provision (PSDH) and district timber taxes.<\/p>\n
While illegal forest activities drain the government finances
\nand breed corruption, the fact is, they create jobs, particularly
\nfor the unskilled.<\/p>\n
Closing down timber mills and factories -- both licensed and
\nunlicensed -- is politically difficult. People need jobs. A man
\nwith a family to support doesn't care about his employer's
\nlegality. All he wants is a wage to put food on the table.<\/p>\n
In 2003, unlicensed operators in Berau generated 4,000 jobs --
\ndouble the number provided by licensed operators. In East Kutai,
\nthe licensed sector supported 5,500 jobs and the unlicensed
\nsector 2,500.<\/p>\n
But this greater number of \"legal\" jobs in East Kutai consists
\nmainly of short-term employment in clearing land for plantations.
\nWithout this short-term employment, the unlicensed sector would
\nprovide many more jobs than the licensed sector.<\/p>\n
Quite simply, illegal forest activities generate a lot of
\n\"informal\" revenue.<\/p>\n
For governments at all levels, cracking down on the companies
\nthat generate this wealth is just not politically viable. Not
\nwhen they contribute so significantly by generating \"informal\"
\nincome. Not when closing them down might lead to civil unrest.<\/p>\n
Given this scenario, preventing environmental damage and
\nsaving state budget losses are the last to enter the equation.<\/p>\n
It all sounds very grim. But with sufficient political will
\nand long-term political vision, progress towards more sustainable
\nforestry practices is possible.<\/p>\n
First, current law enforcement measures must go beyond timber
\nsmuggling and tackle other illegalities occurring in the forest
\nsector, such as logging outside allocated areas, understating
\nproduction, manipulating shipping records and evading taxes.<\/p>\n
Second -- and this is the tough one -- the overcapacity in
\nIndonesia's timber processing sector must be reduced if the
\ndemand for timber that drives illegal logging is to be halted.
\nThe capacity of registered mills must be downsized and
\nunregistered mills closed.<\/p>\n
To reduce job losses the government will need to create
\nalternative employment opportunities. Improved forest tax
\nrevenues, the rapid expansion of the oil palm sector and the
\nintensification of public infrastructure projects could all play
\na role in absorbing much of the freed-up forestry labor.<\/p>\n
Third, bilateral agreements to combat unregulated timber
\ntrading must be enforced, particularly between Indonesia,
\nMalaysia and China.<\/p>\n
Fourth, good conduct among timber producers should be
\nencouraged through certification schemes and tenure security.
\nTenure security for local people should also be guaranteed to
\nencourage them to protect their forests.<\/p>\n
And finally, grass-root pressure for greater accountability
\nand transparency in the district forestry sector needs to be
\nsupported.<\/p>\n
None of this will be easy. But establishing a sustainable
\ntimber industry, creating forestry jobs and generating local
\nincome will be a whole lot harder once the trees have gone the
\nway of the dinosaur.<\/p>\n
The writer conducts research into illegal logging for the
\nCenter for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Bogor.<\/p>",
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