Forestry officials told to be firm

Forestry officials told to be firm

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno ordered the Ministry of Forestry to be firm when punishing delinquent forest concessionaires, regardless of who the owners happen to be.

Try said Tuesday that when officials discovered irregularities or other findings that indicate a concessionaire had failed to meet its obligations, they should not hesitate to impose penalties.

"If a concessionaire clearly violates the rules, punish it. Don't worry about the owner or the person behind the company," he said.

He said severe penalties must imposed to improve the sustainability of Indonesia's forests, "even if it means a company might have to be closed".

Try was responding to reports that implied certain forest concessionaires had been able to escape the law because of their financially and politically powerful owners.

Try told the forestry officials that the self-assessment system, under which the government allows certain private companies to draw up their own reports and determine what fees to pay, should educate concessionaire managers to be honest and responsible in reporting their activities.

Under the system, forest concessionaires considered bona fide by the government are allowed to calculate the mandatory forest fees they must pay based on their logging activities. They are also permitted to fill out logging documents on their own.

Reports have cited, however, cases where concessionaires violate the government's trust by inaccurately filling in the documents in order to pay less than the companies' actual logging activities require.

Try pointed out, however, that violations would occur even without the self-assessment system, "especially when officials start to bargain".

Try reminded the forestry officials to not only concentrate forest development and management activities on making the largest profit, but also on maintaining a sustainable forest environment.

"We shouldn't determine the success of development from output but from its outcome, which covers more holistic, environmental aspects," he said.

Try reiterated the importance of the ministry's research and development division in keeping up with rapid forestry developments happening around the globe.

He explained that forest management must be carefully planned to prevent it from overlapping with other sectors.

Meanwhile, Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said in his report to the Vice President that upstream wood-based companies often violate government regulations. This, he said, can be seen from post-audit checks conducted by the government.

He said the ministry usually imposes fines and bars them from making self-assessment checks.

Director General of Forest Utilization Titus Sarijanto said concessionaires found cutting trees outside their designated areas are usually subjected to fines 10 times the amount of their mandatory forest contributions.

He said the government has so far collected Rp 75 billion (US$32.75 million) in such fines. He did not mention how long it took to collect the amount. (pwn)