SE Asian timber trade continues to thrive<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Southeast Asia's timber industry will
\nremain healthy despite the pall of smog cast over much of the
\nregion from forest fires raging in Indonesia, officials say.<\/p>\n
Government officials in Malaysia and Indonesia said they had
\nadopted policies to ensure logging would not strip the land.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Primary Industries Minister Lim Keng Yaik said the
\ngovernment began a US$1.3 billion plan last year to renew its
\nforests over a five-year period.<\/p>\n
Under guidelines set by the Japan-based International Tropical
\nTimber Organization (ITTO), all timber exports must come from
\nsustainable-managed forests by 2000, or face an export ban.<\/p>\n
"ITTO requires the country's tropical forest to be sustainedly
\nmanaged by the year 2000, and if not, our timber products will
\nnot have easy access to the international market," Lim said.<\/p>\n
He said only fully-grown trees were felled and enrichment
\nplanting was carried out where necessary, to promote the growth
\nof secondary forest.<\/p>\n
"In other words, by the time another round of selective
\nlogging takes place after 30 to 60 years, depending on the
\ncondition of the particular forest compartment, trees in the
\nlogged-over areas would have gained full maturity," said Lim.<\/p>\n
Soedarmo, head of the forest fire sub-directorate of
\nIndonesia's forestry ministry, said timber can still be harvested
\ndespite the latest forest fires.<\/p>\n
"I think it is possible because the timber industry involves
\ntrees which can be cut after 10 years," he said. "I don't think
\nforest fires will impact on the timber industry," he said.<\/p>\n
Malaysia has a total land area of 32.9 million hectares, of
\nwhich 58 percent, or 19.2 million hectares, are forested.<\/p>\n
Officials said there were about 240,000 workers in the timber
\nindustry and the country earned $5.5 billion, or about seven
\npercent of its export earnings, through the sale of logs, sawn
\ntimber, plywood and other timber products last year.<\/p>\n
More than two-thirds of Malaysia's tropical rain forests are
\non Sabah and Sarawak states on Borneo island. Indonesia's
\nKalimantan province is on the eastern half of the island.<\/p>\n
Lim said Malaysia was fortunate to be one of the world's major
\nrubber producing countries as rubber trees which were no longer
\nproductive are felled to make furniture.<\/p>\n
The government said laws against illegal logging and other
\nforestry offenses were adequate.<\/p>\n
Fines reach a maximum of $20,000. Jail terms of between one
\nand 20 years were imposed on illegal loggers.<\/p>\n
The situation was different for Thailand.<\/p>\n
Thailand imported timber from Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and
\nPapua New Guinea after a decree imposed in January 1989 banned
\nall logging. The decree came after floods and mud slides killed
\nseveral people in southern Thailand in 1987 and 1988.<\/p>\n
"Thailand still has several forested areas. The department is
\nnow in charge of a reforestation program which calls for planting
\nquick-growing trees such as eucalyptus in degraded forest
\nreserves areas," an official said.<\/p>\n
Forests in the Philippines have been largely stripped by
\nillegal logging. Those that remain are confined to remote areas
\nof the country, officials said.<\/p>\n
From 1989 to 1995, the average rate of deforestation was
\nestimated at 130,000 hectares annually. The country's total
\nforest area dropped to 5.686 million hectares in 1994 as against
\n6.3 million in 1989.<\/p>\n
"We have enough laws to protect our forest reserves, what is
\nneeded is strict monitoring and more funds to implement
\nreforestation" an official at the Forest Management Bureau said.<\/p>",
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