New hope for Indonesia's forests<\/p>\n
By John Keating<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The recent meeting of the Consultative Group on
\nIndonesia (CGI) promises to usher in a new era for the numerous,
\noften diverse forests of Indonesia. On Tuesday, Feb. 1, the
\ngovernment committed itself to a new approach to managing its
\nvast -- but rapidly dwindling -- tropical forest resource.<\/p>\n
Like most changes in the \"New Indonesia\", the origin of this
\nnew approach can be traced back to the downfall of ex-president
\nSoeharto in May 1998.<\/p>\n
During his 32 year authoritarian rule, forest policy was aimed
\nat maximizing the output of timber to earn as much revenue as
\npossible. Much of this income was generated by a small group of
\nwell-connected businessmen who influenced policy and blithely
\nignored or sidestepped management rules and regulations.<\/p>\n
This left the forests in a dire state and threatened to reduce
\nIndonesia to the status of a net importer of timber within the
\nfirst 15 years of the new millennium.<\/p>\n
The transition government under ex-president B.J. Habibie
\nbegan to practice a more open policy, creating the possibility of
\naddressing many serious problems in the forestry sector. Most
\nsector analysts were agreed that only a broad-based approach,
\ninvolving all relevant government departments, industry
\noperators, law enforcement agencies, local communities and
\ninternational donors could succeed in halting the decline and
\nbuilding a new future for Indonesian forests.<\/p>\n
The question was how to raise the profile of the complex
\nsectoral challenges to a government beset by myriad difficulties
\nin a society on the verge of national disintegration and in the
\ngrip of a devastating economic crisis.<\/p>\n
At the same time, there was genuine international concern
\nabout the state of Indonesia's forests. This was particularly so
\nin the European Union. European development cooperation programs
\nin forestry make up approximately 60 percent of grant aid to the
\nsector, representing a commitment of almost 112 million euro in
\ngrants to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In light of this concern, the forestry issue was raised by a
\nnumber of donors at the CGI meeting in Paris in July 1999. A
\nMemorandum on the sector, prepared jointly by the EC, Germany and
\nthe United Kingdom, was tabled at the meeting. The outcome was a
\nproposal by the Head of the Indonesian Delegation for a high
\nlevel seminar on forestry, with a report to be submitted to the
\nnext CGI meeting.<\/p>\n
That seminar, entitled \"Removing the Constraints: Post-CGI
\nSeminar on the Forestry Sector\" took place on Jan. 26, just six
\ndays before the full CGI meeting. The objective was to inform
\nparticipants of the realities of the sector based on the most
\naccurate data gained from current research. It also highlighted
\nsome promising new initiatives that show potential for addressing
\nmajor problems and, most importantly, to prompt a commensurate
\nresponse from the government.<\/p>\n
Almost 200 people attended the seminar, which was opened by
\nthe Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry,
\nKwik Kian Gie. The keynote address was delivered by the Minister
\nof Forestry and Plantation Nur Mahmudi Ismail.<\/p>\n
Donor participation included a number of envoys from the
\nEuropean Union and both the Asian and Islamic Development Banks.
\nThe main sponsorship came from the World Bank.<\/p>\n
A series of illustrations on the problems of the sector
\nshowed, among others, that:<\/p>\n
* The rate of deforestation is increasing and has averaged 1.6
\nmillion hectares per year over the last decade;<\/p>\n
* Recent assessments show that more than 5 million hectares of
\nforest were damaged during the 1997\/1998 fires with subsequent
\ntotal costs to the region of approximately US$9 billion;<\/p>\n
* Illegal logging continues unabated even in the \"protected\"
\nnational parks areas;<\/p>\n
* some of the effects of this logging include erosion, reduced
\nstream flows, dried-up irrigation schemes and reduced numbers of
\nmammals;<\/p>\n
* Forest industries consume at least twice the sustainable
\nharvest each year; the balance is made up by illegal logging.<\/p>\n
* The amount of corporate debt related to the forestry sector
\ncurrently managed by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
\n(IBRA) is more than US$4 billion; debt write-offs would amount to
\nsubsidies for poorly-managed companies.<\/p>\n
* Mismanagement of forests under the current concession system
\nhas been a major factor in deforestation;<\/p>\n
* Conflicts between local communities and forest
\nconcessionaires and estate crop plantations are widespread;<\/p>\n
The government response to this bleak picture has been
\nrefreshingly direct and positive. According to its statement
\ndelivered at the CGI meeting on Feb. 1, a new National Forest
\nProgram (NFP) is to be formulated in a transparent and
\nconsultative manner. It will build on the results of working
\ngroups already active within the Ministry of Forestry and
\nPlantation.<\/p>\n
The NFP is to be developed by a new statutory body to be
\nestablished within 60 days by a Presidential Decree. An
\nInterdepartmental Committee on Forests, to be established by the
\nCoordinating Ministry for the Economy, Finance and Industry, will
\noverview this process.<\/p>\n
The government also committed itself to a number of short-term
\nactions to demonstrate its willingness to immediately tackle the
\nmost urgent issues. These include:<\/p>\n
* Closure of illegal sawmills and coordinated action against
\nillegal loggers, especially within national parks.<\/p>\n
* Accelerated forest resource assessment as a basis for NFP
\nformulation.<\/p>\n
* Reevaluation of conversion forest policy and a moratorium on
\nall natural forest conversion until NFP has agreed.<\/p>\n
* Downsizing and restructuring of wood based industry to
\nbalance supply with demand for raw materials, and to increase the
\ncompetitiveness of wood based industry.<\/p>\n
* Closure of heavily-indebted wood industries under control of
\nIBRA and linking proposed debt write-off to capacity reduction.<\/p>\n
* Linking the reforestation program to the needs of forest
\nindustries.<\/p>\n
* Recalculation of the real value of timber.<\/p>\n
* Using the decentralization process as a tool to enhance
\nsustainable forest management.<\/p>\n
The donors, in their subsequent statements, welcomed the
\ngovernment initiative and expressed strong support. The EU
\nrequest for a small donor forum to assist the government to
\nimplement and monitor the initiatives was endorsed by other
\nspeakers and by the Head of the Indonesian delegation, as was a
\nsuggestion for a timetable on proposed actions.<\/p>\n
As a result of the CGI initiatives, the government, the main
\nstakeholders and the international donor community are now united
\non the broad details of reform required in the forestry sector,
\nin a way never before achieved in Indonesia. This is reflected in
\nthe strong support for the actions proposed at the CGI meeting.<\/p>\n
A high-level political commitment now exists for a new
\napproach to the management of Indonesia's forest resources,
\nwithin the context of a new National Forest Program.<\/p>\n
Progress on this and on the promised short-term actions will
\ntest the government's willingness and its capacity to tackle the
\ncomplex problems involved. Further, the views of the many
\nstakeholders in the sector, especially those of local communities
\nand the outputs of donor-assisted development cooperation
\nprojects can finally begin to have a tangible impact on the
\nsector and to reach the decision makers who will formulate future
\nforestry policy in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The author is Director of the EU-Indonesia Forest Liaison
\nBureau and was a core member of the organizing committee for the
\nforestry seminar. The views expressed in this article are his own
\nand do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission
\nor the Indonesian government.<\/p>",
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