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minister's regulation which was issued in 1994 as the legal basis for the establishment of such task forces had been revoked.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)