Protecting our rain forests<\/p>\n
By the time you finish reading this sentence, approximately
\nfive more hectares of tropical forests will have disappeared from
\nthe surface of this globe. Or, bringing the comparison closer to
\nhome, an area of tropical forest the size of Jakarta disappears
\nfrom our Earth every 35 hours.<\/p>\n
This dire pronouncement is based on 1990 FAO figures which
\nmeasure the rate of deforestation of the world's diminishing
\ntropical forests.<\/p>\n
Tropical forests constitute one of the most fiercely debated
\nenvironmental issues in the world today. Although it is not fully
\nunderstood yet, there is a link between tropical forests and the
\nglobal weather and climate. According to one argument,
\ndeforestation in developing countries is estimated to account for
\nup to 20 percent of the greenhouse effect, which traps heat in
\nthe atmosphere and causes a slow increase in global temperatures.<\/p>\n
Tropical forests are also believed to be the richest of the
\nworld's ecosystems, containing uncharted genetic materials deemed
\nvital to human existence. At the same time these forests are
\nknown to be very vulnerable to human intrusion. Once a rain
\nforest is cleared, no amount of effort at reforestation will
\nbring back the original ecosystem.<\/p>\n
Thus environmentalists around the world, especially in
\nindustrialized countries, have strong points to make when they
\nput forth political pressure to preserve the remaining tropical
\nforests. Barriers against importation of tropical timber and wood
\nproducts in certain countries are cases in point. Arguing that
\nthese nations are protectionists rather than environmentalists,
\nor that they only do what they do after they have devastated
\ntheir own forests, does not address the problem of sustaining the
\nworld's fast diminishing tropical forests.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has the third largest tropical forest reserves in
\nthe world. We are not sure about the exact area still covered by
\ntropical forests in this country. The official figure still
\nstands at around 140 million hectares, and has not been changed
\nfor years.<\/p>\n
According to a UNDP report released last May, however,
\nIndonesia has only 111.4 million hectares of closed and virgin
\nforests left. It is not very difficult to figure out how fast
\nIndonesia has been cutting down its forests since logging started
\nin this country in the late 1960s.<\/p>\n
It is within the above context that one should address the
\ngovernment's plan to reduce Indonesia's timber output by almost
\n30 percent over the next five years. As announced by the Minister
\nof Forestry, Djamaloedin Soeryohadikoesoemo, the other day, this
\ncountry's timber output will be reduced from the 31.4 million
\ncubic meters in the past five years to 22.5 million cubic meters
\nin the coming five years.<\/p>\n
A similar statement was made by the Director General of
\nInventory and Forest Land Use, Titus Sarijanto, in a hearing with
\nthe House of Representatives a month ago. He said that the
\ngovernment would persistently enforce the cutting cycle of 35
\nyears to allow for natural regeneration.<\/p>\n
One could deduce from that statement that the deforestation
\nprocess in this country has been going on faster than publicly
\nacknowledged. One could even question the validity of the claim
\nthat about 79 percent of Indonesia's rain forests are being
\npreserved, as blatantly pronounced almost every night in TV
\ncommercials.<\/p>\n
The question remains however, whether this time the plan will
\nbe executed effectively. For over two decades now we have been
\nfed by claims that this country treats its tropical forests with
\ncare, guaranteed by what the government proudly calls the
\n\"Indonesian Selective Cutting System\". While, in fact, forestry
\nofficials themselves have acknowledged that around 80 percent of
\nthe estimated 560 forest concessionaires have not fully
\nimplemented the system. Early this year for example it was
\nannounced that in fiscal year 1992-1993, only 13.6 percent of the
\nforest concession holders in this country fulfilled the
\ngovernment logging rules. And even that figure was mentioned as
\nan \"improvement\" compared to a year earlier.<\/p>\n
The major challenge here seems to be the capacity of the
\nMinistry of Forestry itself to make sure that its policy is
\nadhered to. Its officials are poorly paid like other civil
\nservants, underqualified to inspect the concessions, under-
\nequipped to do their jobs properly, and are highly vulnerable to
\nbribes offered by cash-rich logging firms. Thus it seems that if,
\nindeed, we are serious about mending the situation, the time has
\ncome to follow up on the stated intentions with more efficacious
\nactions, challenging as that task may be.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/protecting-our-rain-forests-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}