Law enforcement weak, forest destruction worsens: WWF<\/p>\n
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post,Jakarta<\/p>\n
Heightened illegal logging activities and poor law enforcement
\nworsened forest destruction across the country in 2003, a noted
\nnon-governmental organization said in its year-end review on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
\"Forest destruction has worsened if we compare it with last
\nyear,\" World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia senior policy
\nadvisor Agus Setyarso announced at a press conference.<\/p>\n
Due to rampant illegal logging and ineffective legal action,
\nAgus said, Sumatra has no more pristine forests, while Kalimantan
\nand Papua will encounter a similar experience in the next three
\nto four years.<\/p>\n
\"Among hundreds of forestry crimes reported to police this
\nyear, less than 50 cases were considered worth investigating. We
\npredict less than 50 cases will be brought to court,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Agus, a former lecturer at Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity's School of Forestry, forest destruction reaches 3.6
\nmillion hectares annually.<\/p>\n
As of 2002, at least 23 million hectares of the country's 140
\nmillion hectares of forests had been destroyed.<\/p>\n
He also said that local law enforcers and administration
\nofficials were under the control of businessmen involved in
\nillegal logging, making it impossible for authorities to deal
\nfirmly with illegal loggers.<\/p>\n
Besides involving state officials such as regents, police and
\nprosecutors, Agus said, illegal loggers, locally called cukong,
\nalso hire local people to give the impression that their business
\nbenefits local people.<\/p>\n
\"Based on our latest study, the people become poorer. They
\nchange their job from a land manager to just a worker for illegal
\nlogging,\" Agus said.<\/p>\n
Agus revealed that local people who in the past could find
\nlogs three kilometers from their homes now had to walk about 10
\nkilometers.<\/p>\n
He said that in many areas, businessmen engaged in illegal
\nlogging created new social problems despite the fact that they
\nprovided basic needs for their workers. One such problem is the
\nappearance of brothels.<\/p>\n
\"Nature has reacted to this severe situation with several
\ndisasters such as massive flooding and landslides. Flooding has
\noccurred in places that never saw floods in the past,\" Agus said.<\/p>\n
To wage war against illegal logging, Agus suggested a
\ncooperation between environmental non-governmental organizations
\nand the government to strengthen law enforcement.<\/p>\n
He demanded the government take firm and fair legal action
\nagainst administration elements found protecting illegal logging,
\nto prevent more damage in the years to come.<\/p>\n
WWF Indonesia's Global Development Alliance Manager Anwar
\nsupported the importance of cooperation among various
\ninstitutions to fight illegal logging.<\/p>\n
Anwar claimed that his organization had set up an alliance
\nwith international buyers and local producers to avoid the use of
\nillegal logs.<\/p>\n
\"Last year, we delisted about 200 buyers among 800 buyers who
\nwere found buying products that used illegal logs. We hope in the
\nfuture, the number of buyers and producers using legal logs will
\nincrease,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Last month, the Office of the State Minister of the
\nEnvironment released a report titled The Indonesia State of
\nEnvironment Report 2002 which shows the continuous damage to the
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
The report, which was financed by the United Nations
\nEnvironmental Program (UNEP), reveals, among other things, the
\nincreasing area of critical land as a result of the swelling
\npopulation, rampant forest fires and illegal logging which cannot
\nbe addressed properly because of the complexity of the problem
\nstemming from the extensive number of involved parties.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/law-enforcement-weak-forest-destruction-worsens-wwf-1447893297",
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