Forestry firms causing fires will be closed

JAKARTA (JP): The government warned on Thursday that forestry and plantation companies found to have caused forest fires would be closed down.

Companies responsible for forest fires would lose their operating permits, Minister of Forestry and Plantations Muslimin Nasution said at a meeting announcing new guidelines aimed at preventing forest fires.

The ministry would revoke the permits event if fires occurred within a company's concession.

The national guidelines are jointly prepared by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the Common Fund for Commodities, the ministry's Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Preservation, and the Bogor Institute of Agriculture.

"The punishment for those who have committed burning practices will be heavier and more concrete than in past years," Muslimin said.

In the past, the ministry would simply report to police any indications that timber and plantation firms were responsible for starting fires.

"However, most of the cases we brought to the police were dropped because of a lack of evidence," Muslimin said.

"From 27 cases we brought to the police last year, only two cases have been processed," he said, adding that police are too slow investigating the forest fires.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires, Adi Warsita Adinegoro, said that observations conducted by his association found there were currently 13 fires burning in Riau and Jambi.

He said most of the fires resulted from the slash-and-burn method practiced by plantation companies to clear land.

Muslimin alleged that the fires were started by plantation as well as timber companies, which burn forests areas to clear land for timber estates.

"Plantation companies can save more than 30 percent in their costs if they use the burning method to clear land," he said.

In a similar development, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) urged the government to check the rapid establishment of plantations to prevent the destruction of the country's forests.

Walhi said the massive forest fires experienced by Indonesia in the past three years were caused by the government opening large areas of forest to private companies to develop oil palm plantations.

Walhi also urged the government to take firm action by bringing those responsible for burning the forests to court for environmental crimes.

The World Wildlife Fund has said the massive forest fires in Indonesia, from June 1997 until March 1998, burned at least 5 million hectares of forests, causing estimated losses of over US$4.4 billion. (gis/aan)