Malaysia, RI should join
\nin tackling wood theft<\/p>\n
Julian Newman and Hapsoro, Jakarta<\/p>\n
You could be forgiven for never having heard of ramin. This
\nblond tropical timber is only found in the swamp forests of
\nIndonesia and Malaysia, and as its use is limited to a relatively
\nsmall number of products, such as picture frames and pool cues,
\nit is nowhere near as well known as more familiar timbers like
\nteak and mahogany.<\/p>\n
Yet ramin is now at the center of an increasingly acrimonious
\ndispute at the meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity,
\ncurrently being held in Kuala Lumpur, involving Malaysia,
\nIndonesia and the non-governmental organizations Telapak and the
\nEnvironmental Investigation Agency. At stake in this row are the
\nfuture success of emerging international efforts to control the
\nvast global trade in illegal timber and the survival of
\nIndonesia's dwindling forests.<\/p>\n
So why all the fuss about ramin? In April 2001 the Indonesian
\ngovernment placed the species on Appendix III of the Convention
\non International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the
\ninternational mechanism regulating cross-border trade in flora
\nand fauna. This move effectively banned the export of Indonesian
\nramin, except for that from one certified concession in Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Through this action the Indonesian government sought the
\nassistance of the international community to help curb the
\nrampant illegal logging sweeping the country. Fetching up to
\n$1,000 per cubic metre once processed and shipped to consumer
\nmarkets, ramin has been ruthlessly targeted by illegal loggers,
\nparticularly in protected areas such as Tanjung Puting National
\nPark in Central Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Since the CITES listing came into force in August 2001
\nEIA\/Telapak have been monitoring the effectiveness of the trade
\ncontrols, and have discovered serial rule-breaking and ramin
\nlaundering by neighboring Malaysia, which threatens to undermine
\nattempts to preserve ramin trees in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
EIA\/Telapak's latest report on the illegal ramin trade,
\nentitled Profiting from Plunder, was launched at a press
\nconference in Jakarta earlier this month. It details how
\nIndonesian ramin continues to find its way onto world markets,
\ncourtesy of smuggling and laundering syndicates centered on
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
Posing as timber buyers EIA\/Telapak investigators gained
\naccess to the port of Pasir Gudang, in Johor Baru, Malaysia. Here
\nwe observed larges amount of sawn ramin timber stacked up to dry
\nprior to export. The Malaysian shipping agent involved in the
\noperation said all the ramin had been smuggled from Indonesia and
\nwas awaiting shipment to China.<\/p>\n
He added that the ramin was "CITES-free" and that Malaysian
\nCertificates of Origin were issued for the timber to obscure its
\norigin. A port official stated that 4,500 cubic metres of illegal
\nIndonesian ramin pass through the port each month en route to
\nChina. This volume exceeds the total domestic production of ramin
\nin Malaysia.<\/p>\n
In the Malaysian state of Sarawak EIA\/Telapak found evidence
\nof further ramin laundering. One local timber dealer revealed
\nthat around 40 per cent of ramin products exported from Sarawak
\nwere derived from illegal Indonesian timber, and told how
\nofficial papers to sanitize the stolen timber were easy to obtain
\nfrom the local authorities.<\/p>\n
The release of our findings prompted a storm of criticism from
\nMalaysia. First on the attack was the counselor for the economy
\nand information at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, who was
\nquoted in the Jakarta Post as doubting the validity of the
\nEIA\/Telapak report and threatening legal action against us. Such
\ncomments are presumptuous, as it would be impossible for the
\nMalaysian authorities to have conducted a thorough investigation
\ninto our findings in the two days between the launch of the
\nreport and his response.<\/p>\n
Next on the attack was the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC), the
\nchief apologist for the excesses of Malaysia's voracious logging
\nand wood-processing industry. In its response the MTC spoke of
\n"grossly overstated claims" by EIA\/Telapak, and described our
\nreport as "libelous and mischievous".<\/p>\n
Yet it fails to undermine the solid evidence gathered by
\nEIA\/Telapak. In explaining the laundering operation based in
\nPasir Gudang the MTC claims that as the timber is in transit it
\nis not officially entering Malaysia and so is not the country's
\nresponsibility, yet the shipping agent in the port offered to
\nsupply Malaysian Certificates of Origin. It seems the concept of
\ntransit in Malaysia is a movable feast.<\/p>\n
Finally, Lim Yeng Kaik, Malaysia's outspoken Primary
\nIndustries Minister weighed in claiming that EIA\/Telapak have
\n"taken things out of context and at times falsified information
\nto make themselves heroes at our expense." Again specific
\nexamples of such falsified information were conspicuously absent
\nfrom his diatribe.<\/p>\n
Such a response by the Malaysian government and industry is
\ndisappointing, but not entirely unexpected. It is always easy to
\nshoot the messenger than act on bad tidings. Yet there is
\nevidence that Malaysia has acted on EIA\/Telapak information in
\nthe past.<\/p>\n
In May 2002 we exposed the large-scale smuggling of logs from
\nSumatra to ports in West Malaysia, despite the existence of a log
\nexport ban. This revelation prompted Malaysia to impose an import
\nban on Indonesia logs the following month.<\/p>\n
In 2003, when EIA\/Telapak documented how log smuggling was
\nstill continuing despite the ban, Malaysia tightened its rules.
\nTo give due credit Malaysia has also made several seizures on
\nillegal Indonesian ramin. It is to be hoped that having vented
\nits spleen Malaysia will now conduct a full investigation into
\nour findings and tackle ramin smuggling.<\/p>\n
Recently Indonesia has sought to make political capital out of
\nthe exposure of Malaysia's role in laundering illegal timber.
\nWhile this is partly understandable, it is also a ploy to deflect
\nattention from Indonesia's abject failure to tackle illegal
\nlogging and enforce its own forestry laws.<\/p>\n
The illegal ramin trail starts in Indonesia. EIA\/Telapak have
\nlearned that all the illegal ramin flowing through Pasir Gudang
\nis controlled by one man -- known as "Jambi Lee". He orchestrates
\nramin logging in an area around the Riau-Jambi border, owns a
\nfleet of 60 wooden ships to carry his contraband cargo to
\nMalaysia, and enjoys the protection of the local authorities.
\nEIA\/Telapak have passed this information to the relevant
\nauthorities in Indonesia and will be watching closely for
\nevidence of action.<\/p>\n
Finally, EIA\/Telapak investigations show how well organized
\nsyndicates operating across international boundaries run the
\nglobal trade in illegal timber. The only solution is for
\ncountries to work together to improve enforcement. Serious
\nministerial talks between Indonesia and Malaysia would be a good
\nplace to start.<\/p>\n
Julian Newman is a Senior Investigator at the Environmental
\nInvestigation Agency, a London-based NGO. Hapsoro is the Director
\nof Telapak, a Bogor-based NGO.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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