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.