Kadin calls on govt for further help in forestry<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has
\nurged the government to immediately establish a special agency,
\ncomprising government and business representatives, to resolve
\nproblems faced by the forestry sector.<\/p>\n
The deputy chairman for forestry and plantation affairs in
\nKadin, Soedjai Kartasasmita, said the Ministry of Industry and
\nTrade and the Ministry of Forestry had agreed to set up an agency
\nfor revitalizing forestry and sustainable raw material by August
\nof this year.<\/p>\n
However, the agency has not been established yet, he said.<\/p>\n
Soedjai criticized the Ministry of Forestry in particular for
\nthe delay, saying that it was reluctant to sign a decree on the
\nagency's establishment, while the Ministry of Industry and Trade
\nhad long been ready to sign the decree.<\/p>\n
\"This shows that the Ministry of Forestry has had no
\nwillingness to solve the problems confronting the industry,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The agency, which was the idea of Minister of Industry and
\nTrade Rini Soewandi, aims to boost the export of the country's
\nforestry products and resolve the raw material shortage faced by
\nthe industry.<\/p>\n
The agency will also help find ways to prevent further
\ndeforestation and to protect the environment.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the Ministry of Forestry Koes Saparjadi denied
\nthat it had refused to cooperate, saying that the ministry and
\nthe businessmen involved in the making of the agency had yet to
\nagree on the mission of the agency.<\/p>\n
\"We don't have any problem with the Ministry of Trade and
\nIndustry, but we do with the businessmen, and we want to have a
\ncommon understanding with them over issues regarding the raw
\nmaterial supply before setting up the agency. We haven't been
\nable to agree on that yet,\" Koes said.<\/p>\n
He refused to name the businessmen involved.<\/p>\n
Koes said the businessmen wanted the ministry to increase the
\nlog quota for 2003, saying that the 6.8 million cubic meter quota
\nset by the ministry was too low compared to the industry's total
\ninstalled capacity of 60 million cubic meters.<\/p>\n
KADIN said the forestry industry was the largest contributor
\nof foreign exchange earnings for the country in the non-oil and
\ngas sector.<\/p>\n
However, it said that annual export earnings from the industry
\nhad declined to US$4 billion during the period of 2000 to 2002
\nfrom between $7 billion and $8 billion from 1999 to 2000.<\/p>\n
The government's nontaxable revenue from the industry is
\nestimated at Rp 3 trillion ($333 million) this year and, under
\nthe 2003 state budget draft, the revenue is estimated to fall
\nfurther to Rp 1 trillion next year.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists blame the industry's woes on illegal loggers
\nwho have damaged most of the country's forests and smuggled logs
\nout of the country. This has resulted in a shortage of raw
\nmaterial for local forest-based industries.<\/p>\n
However, businessmen blame the raw material shortage on the
\ngovernment policy, which bars them from logging old growth
\nforests.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kadin-calls-on-govt-for-further-help-in-forestry-1447893297",
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