Adi, a crusader for Mount Leuser

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"I hated illegal logging the most," was the swift response of Adi Susmianto when asked to nominate the most difficult challenge he had faced as director of the Mount Leuser National Park, Langkat regency, here. Adi was the director of the park between 1999 and 2001 and is currently the conservation director of the Ministry of Forestry's regional and forest conservation directorate general. He said that keeping the national park free of illegal logging had been problematic, as such activities were often backed by powerful people in the community.

The Mount Leuser National Park is home to old trees worth billions of rupiah as timber. There are 20 percent less trees growing on the 950,000 hectares of land as the result of illegal logging. A flash flood in the area last week claimed hundreds of lives.

"It is true that those involved in illegal logging come from the military, police or government, or are councillors. It is very true," the 46-year-old man admitted to The Jakarta Post.

Adi said that illegal logging networks always consist of financiers -- usually the owners of timber companies, known as cukong -- government officials or councillors who back up the illegal activities, known as oknum; and local loggers who sell the timber to the companies.

"It's possible for the national park to face the illegal loggers. But, I found it very difficult since I doubted the commitment of my fellow security officers, government officials or non-governmental organizations to fight against illegal logging," he said.

Adi often conducted raids to halt the illegal logging, but with less than 100 poorly equipped park rangers at hand, outside help was needed.

The raids were usually assisted by the police, the military, non-governmental officials and the local administration.

"Our raids often failed as the plan was leaked to the illegal loggers," said the soft-spoken man.

In some cases, illegal loggers were caught red-handed with hard evidence, such as chain saws or bulldozers, usually belonging to privately owned timber companies.

However, Adi lamented, the suspects, particularly those who financed the illegal logging, had mostly managed to evade justice.

"Occasionally, the police released the suspects without a clear explanation. Even if such cases were brought to court, the suspects were usually handed down a lenient sentence," he added.

But he was not deterred and courageously tried to persecute a local businessman allegedly involved in illegal logging with links to the local military, police and government officials as well as councillors.

"With his money, he may have many protectors. But I also have a lot of friends," Adi said, confidently, adding that some military and police personnel and government and non-governmental organizations supported him in protecting the national park.

Several activists of non-governmental environmental organizations in North Sumatra and Aceh identified Adi as an official who played an active role in the park's protection.

"He is a brave man. He has the nerve to face illegal loggers. He has done his best," an activist in the North Sumatra capital of Medan commented.

The opposition of local residents is nothing new to Adi, who was born and grew up in the East Java town of Bondowoso.

"Illegal loggers use local residents to band against us. This is understandable, they are persuaded that the national park is depriving them of their only source of income," he said.

"The local administration also thinks we are against development because we always oppose plans to build roads or buildings inside the park," said Adi, who joined the Ministry of Forestry in 1981.

In fact, when Adi had attempted to move the tourism trail nearby the Bahorok river to a location several kilometers away, residents of the Bukit Lawang resort had staged a rally. The Langkat regency also reportedly rejected the plan.

"We should learn from the disaster, the laws of nature cannot be tampered with," Adi said.

Another difficulty faced by Adi and the national park was the illegal occupation of national park land by local residents.

"Local developers influence residents to claim the national park land as theirs. They set up hundreds of houses, mostly in the national park areas located in North Sumatra," said Adi.

He believes that the government should play a more active role in assisting local people to improve their welfare by preserving the forest rather than exploiting it.

"A moratorium should be issued to stop logging in natural forests. There is no other way to save our forests," said Adi, who completed his studies in forestry at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture.

Adi, who was also the former head of the Mount Halimun National Park in West Java, often visits the Mount Leuser park in his spare time with his wife and his daughter.

"I love to observe nature. I think future generations have the right to enjoy it also. We have no right to destroy it," he said.