Audit sought for illegal logging funds
Audit sought for illegal logging funds
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A non-governmental organization (NGO) has called on the
government to audit the use of funds by military and police
personnel for cracking down on illegal logging activities,
because of the poor result of the operations.
"In 2001, for example, the amount of money used in operations
to curb illegal logging reached Rp 5.4 trillion (US$635 million),
but the operations were only able to save the state Rp 350
billion," Mas Achmad Santosa, senior counsel of the Indonesian
Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), said over the weekend.
"So, we must monitor and evaluate the previous and current
operations."
Every year, the Ministry of Forestry cooperates with the
Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police to crack down
on illegal loggers.
In 2001, 1,031 illegal logging activities were apprehended,
but none of the cases went to court. In the same year, police
stopped their investigation into six major illegal logging cases.
In 2002, 971 illegal logging cases were uncovered, but again,
none went to court. The operation was only able to save the state
potential losses of Rp 459 billion.
In the 2003 operations, the TNI and police uncovered 15
illegal logging cases, with only one case going to court.
"The operations against illegal logging activities have only
provided a minimum deterrent for illegal loggers so far," Mas
Achmad said.
He said the operations were not effective because a number of
soldiers and police officers, as well as foundations and firms
belonging to the TNI or police, allegedly backed illegal logging
activities.
The ICEL had earlier called on President Megawati
Soekarnoputri to ban the TNI and police from doing business in
the forestry industry in order to halt illegal logging in
Indonesia's fast disappearing rainforests.
"Such a prohibition would certainly encourage law enforcers to
crack down on illegal logging activities, as TNI and police
officers would have no conflict of interest," he said.
The TNI and police each own a number of foundations,
cooperatives and firms, including Kartika Eka Paksi Foundation,
Adi Upaya Foundation, Inkopad, Inkopabri and PT Tri Usaha Bakti.
According to the ICEL, the TNI- and police-owned foundations
and firms held forest concessions, but they generally cut down
trees outside their concession areas as well.
The TNI and police were also involved in illegal logging by
protecting those who carried out the activities, it said.
Several retired military and police officers had also become
the commissioners of some forestry companies, and allowed the
firms to use their names in carrying out illegal logging
activities.
Togu Manurung of Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) said the call to
ban TNI and police foundations and firms from engaging in the
forestry business was a good idea, but that it would go
unnoticed.
"We have called on the government to do many things to stop
the widespread and unchecked illegal logging, but the problem
keeps on getting bigger, not smaller," he said on Sunday.
The state suffers about Rp 30 trillion in losses per year from
illegal logging activities.