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)