An unending battle against illegal logging

By Tertiani Z.B. Simanjuntak

LANGKAT, North Sumatra (JP): The chirping hum of small forest creatures is suddenly replaced by the whining sound of chain saws ripping through their home.

In broad daylight a dozen men cut down trees, looting the best that nature has to offer. They go deep into the conservation area with no forest ranger nor policeman in sight.

They are armed.

A few days pass, four trucks laden with timber leave the area and drive smoothly, passing check points with ease, after all their documents have been examined. Officials let the trucks pass with little fuss made.

All is in order.

The elements of the description above are very much an everyday reality.

More specifically, it is a capsule of what has been going on for the last five years at the two-million-hectare Leuser Ecosystem Area, which encompasses the Gunung Leuser National Park that stretches across the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh.

"An estimated 12,000 hectares of the area has been stripped by illegal logging in the past six months alone," one of the co- directors of the ecosystem's management, Mike Griffiths, said.

"It's still going on...it's quiet serious, it should be reviewed," he said, during a meeting at the management unit's office in Medan, North Sumatra, with members of the ecosystem's stakeholders, the European Union (EU) and several non- governmental organizations (NGOs).

His Indonesian partner, Ali Basyah Amin, cited economic hardship, lack of law enforcement and rising political tension in Aceh as some of the reasons that have forced residents to move to the forests and perpetuate illegal logging in the area.

"In just one year, some 200 households of displaced Acehnese have begun to live in the forest in the central part of Southeast Aceh, while another 500 households are now in the part near Langkat. We're still trying to relocate them," he said.

Illegal logging, an often overlooked violation in the past, has become a national problem that has far greater repercussions than the immediate financial loss to the state.

The Asian Development Bank revealed that Indonesian forests produce between 33 million and 75 million cubic meters of timber per year, while a sustainable yield is estimated at about 22 million cubic meters per year.

It has become a particularly serious concern as the Leuser ecosystem is the last place where various species of near-extinct elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, clouded leopards and orangutans are found together.

The ecosystem, which ensures a sustainable water supply for the seven surrounding regions, is also home to hundreds of species of animals and plants that includes the largest flower in the world, the rafflesia and the tallest flower, the amorphophallus.

Now, they are threatened by illegal encroachment and loss of habitat.

Environmental watchdogs, based on their investigations, claim that local timber barons encourage communities to break the law by providing loggers with chain saws and loans for food and supplies.

Bogor-based Telapak Indonesia executive Arbi Valentinus has demanded an immediate investigation and prosecution of sawmill owners proved to have acted illegally.

"If necessary, the government should issue an export moratorium of particular logs," he said.

Another NGO, Yayasan Leuser Lestari, suggested giving locals an alternative way to earn their living that would discourage them from accepting offers to cut down trees illegally for Rp 15,000 or Rp 20,000 per day.

In their discussions with an EU delegation, the local administration and police seemed to be at odds with whose responsibility it was to resolve the situation.

North Sumatra Governor Tengku Rizal Nurdin said his office had placed priority on relocating displaced Acehnese from the ecosystem area to South Sumatra, which had agreed to accept them.

"I don't believe the Acehnese clear forests. Moreover, the perpetrators are in small numbers...they're jobless and need to feed their family. So what can we do?"

"However, I have asked the police and military to make sure the area is free from such illegal activities. On this occasion, I would also like to ask Jakarta to give us special authority to help safeguard the ecosystem," he told the EU delegation.

Nurdin further emphasized that it is the police's responsibility to prevent illegal logging.

"It depends on the chief of police to help the government fight it...we're not part of the chain of command," he said.

North Sumatra Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Ismerda Lebang said the force had done their best by stifling the delivery of the trucks carrying stolen logs.

Aceh deputy governor Abubakar Azwar argued that since 78 percent of the ecosystem area is located in Aceh, it is understandable that locals seek benefit from the protected area.

"But you cannot say that we have done nothing. Last March we revoked forest concessions," he said, adding that "it's too difficult to eradicate the crime, because companies do both illegal and legal logging at the same time."

To get things organized, the European Union's executive body, the European Commission (EC), has granted two million euros to the forestry ministry to finance the establishment of an illegal logging response center in the next three years.

The center would gather and disseminate information on the crime and help NGOs launch legal action against illegal loggers.

It will also serve as a think-tank to overcome the cause of illegal logging throughout the country.

"We've got to do something, so therefore there should be no more licenses for those who abuse it," EC Ambassador Sabato Della Monica said.

"We also expect the prosecution against not only those who have held the chain saw but also the masterminds behind it."

The grant is an additional assistance on top of the 32.5 million euros in a seven-year cooperation with the Indonesian government to sustain the Leuser ecosystem.

The forestry's ministry director general of forest protection and nature conservation, Wahjudi Wardojo, expressed hope that the center would become a great help to seek the best way to pool strength to stop illegal logging.