Donors shift focus to Indonesia's forests

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's forest management will be the main issue in next week's donors meeting in Jakarta, the World Bank's country director Mark Baird said on Wednesday.

Baird noted that Indonesia's donors in the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) were very much concerned about rapid deforestation in the country, and would, therefore, demand the government stop it.

In the consultative group's meeting on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2, the government is expected to present a clear and complete medium- term forestry program and a plan of action to address the current problems.

"We want to see the Indonesian government providing a medium- term program in forestry that will address problems in a holistic way and implement urgent action on the problems, especially illegal logging," he told journalists on the sidelines of a World Bank-sponsored seminar on Indonesian forests.

A number of forestry experts and representatives from various environmental organizations, such as Walhi (the Indonesian Forum for the Environment) and the Center for International Forestry Research and World Wide Funds, took part in the seminar.

Baird said the World Bank and other donors wanted the government to take stern action against illegal logging and against companies that clearly violated rules on sustainable forest management.

"What we are looking for is a commitment backed up by enforcement, and that requires quite a fundamental change in the way the judicial system and the police work," he said.

He said that he was confident that if the government presented a good program to address various forestry problems, donors would be very supportive.

"I am sure that major donor countries such as the European Union, the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland and Canada -- who are able to provide grant funds -- will be willing to expand their level of grant support if they could support a strong program in forestry here," he said.

Opening the seminar, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Kwik Kian Gie said he agreed that the Indonesian government should not delay any further the drafting of programs on the forestry sector.

He also admitted the government needed to take effective action to resolve urgent forestry issues, such as deforestation and illegal logging.

According to World Bank data, over 30 million cubic meters of timber were harvested illegally in Indonesia during the 1997/1998 period.

In the same period, around 29.5 million cubic meters of timber were felled legally, but done so using unsustainable clear- cutting methods.

Indonesia's forest areas have been disappearing at an alarming rate of around 1.5 million hectares per year in the last 12 years due to forest conversion, forest fires and illegal logging.

If there is no immediate and effective action taken to curb deforestation, Indonesia will see its commercially valuable forest resources completely depleted within ten years to 15 years.

Oscar Mascagni, technical officer in charge of forestry projects financed by the European Commission in Asia, said the commission was also very worried about the forestry sector in Indonesia.

He said the commission was especially concerned about how the Indonesian government awarded forest concessions and how it planned to curb illegal logging and enforce the law.

"These are the points that the new government must strongly address in the future to show that there is a willingness, so that our continuing involvement in the future can be more effective," he said.

Under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the government, in this case the forestry and plantations ministry, promises to observe its moratorium on new forest conversion licenses. It will do so until transparent, rules-based procedures are developed to minimize further conversion of the remaining natural forests.

The government is also required to review its forestry sector taxation policy starting this month, in consultation with the World Bank. At the same time, the government promises to ensure that the forest resource royalty rate provides at least 60 percent of the economic rent from logs and, thereby, protects the country's forest.

Following the seminar, the government -- as stated in its agreement with the IMF -- should establish a ministerial working group to deal with forestry issues. (udi/cst)