Alliance helps overcome Indonesia's forest crisis

Marius Gunawan , Communications Manager, TNC-WWF Alliance, Jakarta

Indonesia's tropical rain forests -- the largest and richest in Asia -- are in crisis.

The forests are being destroyed at the alarming rate of over two million hectares per year -- or an equivalent of 300 soccer fields per hour. As the forests disappear, so do natural resources as a source of income for about 30 million of the poorest Indonesians who live in and around the forests.

This deforestation is also disturbing the habitat for protected species such as orangutans, tigers and rhinos. In Indonesia, fires linked to illegal logging and forest clearing, as well as lost tax revenue, cost the economy billions of dollars annually. About two-thirds of the deforestation is caused by illegal logging activities.

Increased awareness on the part of producers, consumers and businesspeople, coupled with a strengthening political will, gives us hope of reversing this destructive trend.

Greening Asia's wood markets

The most important markets for exported Indonesian timber are within Asia, especially China and Japan. There is an emerging momentum for change in Asian wood markets due to shifts in business practices and government policies.

In North America and Europe, markets already favor environmentally friendly forest products, though these countries continue to import several hundred million dollars worth of illegally cut wood from Indonesia each year. Market changes have a major impact on suppliers.

To increase competitiveness, forest products companies in Indonesia are making voluntary investments to improve forest management.

Practical steps can also be taken in Indonesia to combat illegal timber exports. Systems already exist to separate legal and illegal wood. Progressive companies in Asia are using third- party verification of responsible forest management to distinguish good wood from bad. Such systems have been used on a large scale in other parts of the world.

TNC-WWF Alliance

To promote responsible forest management, an alliance was initiated by the Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The goal of this alliance is to bring together business, government and environmental groups to combat illegal logging and create market links to promote the use of wood from well-managed forests, with a focus on Indonesia.

There are five main objectives of the alliance. First, create market links to combat illegal logging. The alliance promotes products from well-managed forests and aims to reduce the market for illegally cut wood products in Japan, China and other key Indonesian export markets.

Second, increase the supply of Indonesian wood products from well-managed forests by helping companies and community enterprises in Indonesia to improve their forestry practices and achieve certification.

Third, demonstrate practical solutions to differentiate legal and illegal supplies in natural forest concessions in East Kalimantan, smallholder teak plantations in Java and industrial pulpwood plantations in Riau.

Fourth, reduce investment in companies engaged in destructive or illegal logging in Indonesia by promoting the use of investment screening tools; and finally, share lessons learned from this project.

There is already strong demand for Indonesian wood products from well-managed forests, but the supply of such products is very limited. The TNC-WWF alliance will assist producers in meeting higher standards through several strategies, including technical assistance to companies and communities in East Kalimantan and Riau to identify and manage forests of high conservation value.

Another effort is to develop partnerships with communities in Java to assist in the production of certified plantation teak. The alliance is also improving communication between "green" foreign buyers and more responsible Indonesian suppliers.

Part of this approach is sharing information on responsible forestry with producers, markets, governments and NGOs in Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Japan through the multilingual website www.forestandtradeasia.org.

The alliance is now in its second year of work. Despite significant obstacles it is making progress. Indonesian forest product companies are seeking help from the alliance to improve forest management, and some have even set aside substantial areas for conservation.

Local communities in East Kalimantan, Java and Riau are strongly engaged in efforts to improve their livelihoods and ensure that they get a greater share of the benefits from forest management and conservation.

And foreign wood buyers are discovering new opportunities to work with the alliance to help protect rain forests.