Activists worry Aceh reconstruction could harm forests

Activists worry Aceh reconstruction could harm forests

Burt Herman, Associated Press/Jantho, Aceh

Rustling branches betray the likely presence of an orangutan in
the distance, while twittering insects and streams provide the
soundtrack of the tropical forests of Aceh province, a temple of
nature rising above the tsunami-ravaged shores below.

Though the forests that cover much of Aceh were left largely
untouched by the Dec. 26 disaster, environmentalists fear these
areas could be hurt in the rush to rebuild. And they warn a
failure to heed environmental concerns during reconstruction
could end up causing yet more natural disasters.

At the same time, greater scrutiny now by the scores of
international aid workers who are here could help minimize the
illegal logging fueled by widespread corruption that has
flourished under the military's unchecked reign in Aceh, where
foreigners have been mostly banned.

"It is clear that the recovery and reconstruction process
under way must also invest in the environmental capital of
natural resources, the forests, mangroves and coral reefs that
are nature's buffer to such disasters and their consequences,"
Klaus Toepfer, head of the U.N. Environment Program said
recently.

The tsunami's toll on the environment across the Indian Ocean
is only now being assessed, since most aid work focuses on the
immediate need of feeding and sheltering the hundreds of
thousands of survivors.

In Sri Lanka and Thailand, coral reefs were broken and buried
under sand, disrupting delicate ocean ecosystems. Rice fields and
wells have been inundated with salt water, requiring years of
rehabilitation.

Aceh was hardest-hit because it was closest to the epicenter
of the earthquake that spawned the tsunami. A report by the
government and international community estimated the economic
cost to the environment at US$675 million (euro520 million), the
U.N. Environment Program said.

Still, left untouched in the center of Aceh is the 2.6 million
hectare (6.4 million acre) Leuser Ecosystem, crowned by a 3,140-
meter (10,302-foot) mountain of the same name.

A moratorium on logging across Aceh was declared in March 2001
to protect Leuser and other forests, but that hasn't stopped
illegal tree-cutting -- sometimes with the participation of rogue
elements in the military that controls the region.

Teddy Gunawarman, secretary-general of the Leuser
International Foundation, which has a government mandate to
protect the area, said he fears that in inland areas ringed with
forests, people will simply cut down nearby trees to rebuild
rather than buy legal wood from elsewhere.

The forest forms the last place in the world where large
mammals like elephants, orangutans, tigers and rhinoceros live
together, Gunawarman said.

There could be ripple effects. In Jantho, 60 kilometers (35
miles) southeast of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, for
example, logging could eliminate a vital water catchment along
the Krueng Aceh river that feeds into the city, raising the risk
of floods.

"People will be hit by a second natural disaster," Gunawarman
warned.

It's happened before on Sumatra island. In November 2003, more
than 200 people were killed when a flash flood swept through the
Bukit Lawang tourist resort in North Sumatra province that
neighbors Aceh.

Officials blamed illegal cutting upstream and labeled the
people involved in the trade "environmental terrorists" --
threatening those convicted of illegal logging with a death
sentence.

Mike Griffiths, vice chairman of the Leuser International
Foundation, suggests using coconut trees and other alternative
materials for new homes -- or even importing wood -- rather than
cutting down the valuable hardwoods that make up Indonesia's
forests.

"This is a chance for the international community to get
together and instead of giving money or rice, to give timber," he
said.

Mustafa Hasjbullah, head of the provincial Forestry
Department, said he is pleading with aid groups not to use
illegal logs to build new homes for tsunami victims. But he said
his office can't really do anything to stop illegal logging and
the final responsibility rests with the national government.

"I have forestry police but they have no power," said
Hasjbullah.

The military says it receives only 30 percent to 40 percent of
the funding its needs to operate in Aceh. That has encouraged the
soldiers to come up with other solutions to make ends meet --
encouraging corruption and illegal businesses, said Steven
Galster, executive director in Thailand of the environmental
advocacy group WildAid and an expert on illegal logging in Aceh.

"There's an opportunity here now that Aceh is open ... to keep
(the army) busy in reconstruction without cutting down trees,"
Galster said. "It's a kind of ugly silver lining."

In Banda Aceh's urban planning office, Chairani Abdullah pores
over plans for some 21 relocation camps with barracks for 100
people each, housing she says is needed urgently.
Still, she said no illegal wood would be used in the haste to
finish the temporary houses for the tsunami homeless, enabling
them to move out of tents and try to return to normal life.

"Even though it's an emergency, we have rules," she said.

GetAP 1.00 -- JAN 27, 2005 07:17:15