Enforcement, not new rules, will stop forest fires
Enforcement, not new rules, will stop forest fires
JAKARTA (JP): Two environmental activists say rather than
issuing new regulations to prevent more forest fires, the
government should strive to enforce the existing regulations.
Mas Achmad Santosa and S. Indro Tjahjono said separately on
Saturday many regulations issued by local governments are
adequate in preventing forest fires if they are complied with.
Santosa, director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental
Law (ICEL) and Indro, coordinator of the Indonesian Non-
Governmental Organization on Forest Conservation (SKEPHI), were
commenting on the government's plan to issue new regulations on
the way the country manages and protects its forestry resources.
The State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, last
week said that he has been appointed to coordinate the
government's efforts to prevent major forest fires in the future.
Sarwono said he plans to tighten the regulations, including those
to which forestry concessionaires must comply.
At least 5.11 million hectares of forest, brush and grasslands
have been damaged by fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan this year,
creating environmental as well as health hazards.
The government will be looking at the parties believed to be
responsible for starting the fires, Sarwono said.
Government officials said most of the fires originated from
local farmers who still practice slash and burn cultivation.
Others were from forestry concessionaires who were clearing the
land for timber estates, plantations or new settlement areas.
New rules
Sarwono gave no details of the new rules being envisaged.
Santosa and Indro both said most provincial administrations in
Sumatra and Kalimantan have the necessary by-laws.
"As far as I know, several provinces have already issued
regulations on the management of forest fires, but I wonder why
they have not worked," Santosa said.
He suggested that the government learn the traditional
techniques of forest management from the indigenous people. These
people have developed special skills in extinguishing fires
because the forest is their habitat and their source of food, he
added.
Both Santosa and Indro disputed the Ministry of Forestry's
contention that the major cause of the fires was the practice of
slash and burn cultivation.
They said Sarwono should make an independent study on the real
causes of the fires.
A foreign consultant might be hired if necessary, said
Santosa.
Indro said that the issuance of the new rules on forest fire
prevention should be supported with fiscal and monetary
incentives for forest concessionaires who are successful in the
implementation of sustainable development concepts.
Indro and Santosa shared the opinion that a greater share of
forestry products and funds raised from forestry activities
should be given to local governments so they can afford the
forest management. Under the current policy, the biggest share
goes to central government coffers.
They observed that conflicts of interest among government
officials or agencies often obstruct the implementation of the
regulation on the Environmental Impact Analysis.
The Ministry of Forestry ruled that a company should make such
an analysis when applying for a forestry concession, but the
Investment Coordinating Board said it would issue an operation
permit for the concessionaires, if they stated that they would
make the analysis, Indro pointed out as one inconsistency.
Indro hailed the government's plan to ban the burning of wood
waste. To obtain eight cubic meters of timber from a tree, the
loggers produced five cubic meters of wood waste, he said.
Beginning next year, concessionaires will be obliged to make
wood chips from the waste. (sim)