Concessionaires still cheating on forest fees
Concessionaires still cheating on forest fees
JAKARTA (JP): A senior government official yesterday
criticized forest concessionaires for frequently failing to pay
sufficient mandatory forest fees and accused them of misusing the
self-assessment method entrusted to them.
Secretary-general of the Ministry of Forestry, Oetomo, told a
hearing with the House of Representative's Commission IV, which
oversees forestry and agricultural affairs, that such practices
emerged after the government conducted post-audit checks on
concessions.
He said many concessionaires also frequently misused the SAKB
and SAKO documents -- needed to transport logs and processed wood
respectively. He did not give figures.
As a penalty, Oetomo explained, the Ministry of Forestry
issues three warnings to the concessionaires. If they still
refuse to improve their performance after the warnings, their
concessions are revoked.
The ministry, he added, may also reduce a concessionaire's
permitted logging area if violations continue.
Executive Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Forest
Concessionaires (APHI) Hendro Prastowo admitted yesterday that
many of the association's members were breaking the rules.
"But the situation now is a lot better than it was a few years
ago, before the forestry ministry was under the responsibility of
Pak Djamaludin," he said, referring to Minister of Forestry
Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo.
He refused to give figures.
"All I can say is that of some 400 members of APHI, several
still tend to misuse the self-assessment responsibility given to
them by the government," he told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
He said the government is now much stricter in imposing
penalties and in enforcing the law, so forest companies have
little chance of getting away with their offenses.
He added that Indonesia will soon be complying with
ecolabeling requirements. These will allow only environmentally-
sound forest products to enter the free market competition. They
will be imposed by certain markets from the year 2000.
"So if concessionaires continue to be defiant, they won't have
a place in the market," Hendro said.
Oetomo said yesterday that forest concessionaires who have
received warnings, have had their permits revoked, or have failed
to pay the mandatory forest fees, will undergo official
assessment.
He acknowledged that it is presently impossible to remove the
self-assessment system altogether because the limited human
resources in the ministry does not allow it.
He also pointed out that if the government were to take over
assessing mandatory forest payments it could easily be blamed for
any errors that occur.
Forest royalties and reforestation funds are among the
mandatory fees that concessionaires must pay to guarantee that
forests are managed in an environmentally-sound manner. The
payment of the fees also determines whether or not a
concessionaire can continue operating. (pwn)