32 task forces in forestry ministry dissolved
32 task forces in forestry ministry dissolved
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Forestry announced on Friday the
dissolution of 32 task forces within the ministry in a move to
improve efficiency in coping with the country's acute forestry
problems.
The ministry said that the forestry minister's regulation
which was issued in 1994 as the legal basis for the establishment
of such task forces had been revoked.
"With the revocation, all the teams or task forces set up
since 1994 will be dissolved," the statement said.
According to the ministry, at least 32 task forces have been
established since 1994 to support the ministry's programs to
manage and protect forests.
But sources said that the teams, which each consisted of at
least 10 senior forestry officials, had not been effective in
resolving forestry problems.
Newly appointed forestry minister Marzuki Usman has said that
illegal logging was still rampant despite the existence of the
interdepartmental task force set up to deal with the problem.
The ministry said that the winding up of the task forces did
not mean the government would reduce its efforts to resolve
forestry problems.
The government has been under pressure to take immediate and
firm action to deal with problems in the forestry sector in order
to meet the commitments it made during the meeting of the
country's major donor grouping, the Consultative Group on
Indonesia (CGI), last year.
The government pledged to combat illegal logging and
unauthorized sawmills, to speed up forest resources assessment,
and to impose a moratorium on forest conversion as part of the
conditions for obtaining loans from CGI members, who have accused
the Indonesian government of being tardy in taking action to
safeguard its forests.
The government also agreed to downsize and restructure timber-
based industries under the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency,
synchronize reforestation programs with existing forest
industries, recalculate the real value of timber, and use the
decentralization process as a vehicle for enhancing sustainable
forest management.
But, Marzuki admitted last month ahead of a preparatory CGI
meeting that the government had thus far failed to meet its
commitments.
Despite the failure, it would nevertheless persist in striving
to fulfill its pledges, Marzuki asserted.
Marzuki also said that the government was considering closing
around 128 timber-related industrial companies which mostly had
been transferred to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
(IBRA) after their owners failed to repay their debts.
"These companies may be closed due to their inability to pay
their debts, operating without permits or their failure to
protect forests," he said.
Marzuki said that his ministry and the Ministry of Industry
and Trade were in the process of conducting a thorough study
before closing the companies.(03)