Reforestation funds will be included in state budget<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Reforestation funds will be included in the
\nstate budget for the 1998\/1999 fiscal year, which will be
\nunveiled by President Soeharto tonight, a minister said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said that next
\nfiscal year, which will start April 1, reforestation funds would
\nbe part of state receipts from nontax sectors.<\/p>\n
\"The reforestation funds will be accounted for in the state
\nbudget so the funds can be used by other related institutions in
\nmanaging forests and other natural resources in a sustainable
\nmanner,\" the minister said in a media conference.<\/p>\n
At present, the reforestation funds are managed by the
\nMinistry of Forestry, but are not accounted for in the state
\nbudget. Their utilization, therefore, escapes legislative
\nsupervision.<\/p>\n
According to Presidential Decree No. 29\/1990, reforestation
\nfunds collected from levies on forest concessionaires must be
\nused to develop forests and rehabilitate land.<\/p>\n
The funds became a hot topic last year after the disclosure
\nthat Djamaludin lent Rp 250 billion (US$41.67 million) of the
\nfunds to PT Kiani Lestari -- a company owned by timber tycoon
\nMohammad \"Bob\" Hasan -- for its pulp and paper factory in East
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
Earlier last year, many observers and environmental
\norganizations chastised the government after it ordered that some
\ninterest from the funds -- amounting to more than Rp 400 billion
\n-- be used to aid state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT IPTN.<\/p>\n
Reforestation funds collected in 1996 totaled Rp 880.7
\nbillion.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said the change would allow the government to
\ntighten control of the use of reforestation funds.<\/p>\n
He also announced that the government had issued a
\npresidential decree in setting reforestation funds in rupiah
\ninstead of U.S dollars to provide timber companies more certainty
\nin the current monetary crisis.<\/p>\n
According to Presidential Decree No. 53\/1997, dated Dec. 31,
\nreforestation funds will be charged in rupiah. The decree has
\nbeen in effect since Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
The switch in the currency of payment was necessary due to the
\nfluctuation of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar, Djamaludin
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The change will ensure certainty for timber companies and
\nalso encourage forestry sector exports,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Previously, the government charged $16 for every cubic meter
\nof forest leased to concession holders for the reforestation
\nfunds.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin declined to give the amount of reforestation funds
\nkept by his ministry, but said as of September last year the
\nreforestation funds collected from the country's forestry
\ncompanies totaled about Rp 2 trillion.<\/p>\n
Most of the funds are kept in the country's seven state-owned
\nbanks, including Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Bank Negara Indonesia,
\nBank Bumi Daya, Bank Tabungan Negara, Bank Pembangunan Indonesia,
\nBank Dagang Negara and Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said the change in the reforestation fund fees
\nwould be valid for future payments.<\/p>\n
Unpaid fees from previous months would still be charged in
\ndollars, he added.<\/p>\n
Under the new decree, the fee set for meranti wood is Rp
\n48,000 per cubic meter in Kalimantan and Maluku, Rp 42,000 per
\ncubic meter in Sumatra and Sulawesi and Rp 39,000 per cubic meter
\nin Irian Jaya, and East and West Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said the fees set in Kalimantan and Maluku were
\nhigher than other areas because the two areas produced better
\nquality meranti.<\/p>\n
The government will not charge any fees for wood chips and
\nlogs with a diameter less than 29 centimeters for timber
\ncompanies located in some provinces which do not have pulp and
\nplywood factories.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said the new decree would be valid until further
\nnotice.<\/p>\n
\"We will review the decree if there is any new economic
\ndevelopments,\" he said. (gis)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/reforestation-funds-will-be-included-in-state-budget-1447893297",
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