Minister slammed for forestry policy proposal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A former top government official criticized on
\nMonday Minister of Forestry and Plantations Nur Mahmudi Ismail's
\nplan to transfer control of the country's forests to state-owned
\nforestry firm Perum Inhutani.<\/p>\n
Former director general of forest utilization at the ministry
\nTitus Sarijanto called on the minister to cancel the plan, saying
\nit would only lead to greater destruction of the country's
\nforests.<\/p>\n
"The plan should be canceled. Many parties are opposed to the
\nplan, including foreign agencies that provide aid to help protect
\nthe country's forests, because they believe the policy would
\ncause greater destruction to the forests," said Titus, who is
\nabout to retire from the ministry.<\/p>\n
Mahmudi earlier proposed the appointment of Inhutani as the
\nsingle holder of the country's forestry concession rights.<\/p>\n
All private or state companies interested in logging or
\ndeveloping forest estates should operate as contractors under
\njoint operation contracts with Inhutani, he said.<\/p>\n
At present, timber companies have to obtain forestry
\nconcession rights of up to 20 years from the Ministry of Forestry
\nand Plantations to operate in logging areas or forest estates.<\/p>\n
Mahmudi said if the House of Representatives approved the
\nproposal, the new scheme would apply to forestry concessions
\nwhich had already expired.<\/p>\n
Former forest concessionaires, he said, could continue
\noperating these forests as contractors, providing they showed a
\ngood track record of forestry management.<\/p>\n
Titus said the scheme would discourage the existing
\nconcessionaires from good maintenance of the forests because they
\nwould assume they would not be able to control them in the
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
"Thus, they will not care about the management of the
\nforests."<\/p>\n
Titus said previous ministers tried to minimize the logging
\nactivities in the country's natural forests, and eventually halt
\nthem altogether, by encouraging forestry companies to develop
\ntimber estates to become alternative sources of raw materials.<\/p>\n
He said investors would not be interested in developing timber
\nestates if they were not given the right to control the forests.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Titus said, Inhutani lacked the financial
\ncapability to invest in timber estates.<\/p>\n
Titus said the government planned to develop 375,000 hectares
\nof timber estates per year, which required total investment of Rp
\n1.8 trillion (US$214 million) or Rp 5 million per hectare.<\/p>\n
"Thus, if the government implements the new policy, the
\ndevelopment of timber estates will stop. All companies and people
\nwill go to natural forests to get timber, causing greater
\ndestruction there."<\/p>\n
Titus said the country's remaining natural forest area was 64
\nmillion hectares.<\/p>\n
He also noted the policy contravened the new regional autonomy
\nlaw which gave provinces and regencies the right to manage their
\nnatural resources, including forests.<\/p>\n
"With the new policy, the provinces and regencies will accuse
\nthe government of trying to maintain its control over their
\nforests."<\/p>\n
Titus also noted the policy would lead to greater corruption
\nin the forestry sector as investors would have to deal with a
\n"longer chain of bureaucracy" in obtaining licenses.<\/p>\n
"Today, investors need only to go to the ministry to obtain
\ntheir licenses. In the future, if the policy is implemented, they
\nhave to go to both Inhutani and the ministry to obtain their
\nlicenses. Thus, they will have to 'handle' more people," Titus
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Based on government data, relatives and associates of former
\npresident Soeharto own the majority of forest concessions, which
\nthey allegedly obtained through close ties with the authorities.<\/p>\n
Mahmudi has said centralizing forest management under one
\nstate firm would not contravene the spirit of autonomy as long as
\nthe provinces received a fair share of the royalties.<\/p>\n
He said royalties to the provinces should be at least 70
\npercent, with the remainder going to the central government.<\/p>\n
Of the 70 percent, he said, 30 percent should be allotted to
\nregencies, 30 percent to the provincial administration and the
\nrest to people living around logging operations.<\/p>\n
"This way, the local people's net income should also be high,"
\nhe said. (jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-slammed-for-forestry-policy-proposal-1447893297",
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