Governors, businessmen reject policy on reforestation fees

Governors, businessmen reject policy on reforestation fees

Mikael Setiawan and Rusman, The Jakarta Post, Balikpapan/Samarinda

Governors and businessmen in Kalimantan demanded on Tuesday that
the Minister of Forestry revoke a government decree that obliges
logging companies to pay a reforestation fee to the government.

The decree, which took effect last year, has placed a huge
burden on businessmen and discouraged them from investing in the
forestry sector, which would in turn reduce revenue for the
regional governments, they said in a joint statement.

The statement was made after a meeting in the East Kalimantan
capital of Balikpapan, which was attended by dozens of
businessmen as well as four governors of Kalimantan island.

They were Suwarna, the governor of East Kalimantan, Asmawi A.
Gani, the governor of Central Kalimantan, Sjachril Darham, the
governor of South Kalimantan and Usman Dja'far, the governor of
West Kalimantan.

The decree in question was issued by the minister of forestry
last year. It obliges the businessmen to pay a certain amount
into a reforestation fund to the central government, in addition
to the forest concession fund.

The amount to be paid by the businesses varies, depending on
the size of the concession and the type of the trees.

Suwarna said that the decree had burdened local forestry
companies, which may badly affect their employees.

The decree, they claimed had also discouraged investors from
pouring money into the province, in turn hampering the local
government's program to create new job opportunities.

Meanwhile, Mamat Mulyana, the chairman of the West
Kalimantan's Forestry Businessmen's Association, said that many
businessmen in the province were unable to pay the fee, due to
slow business in the past three years.

Separately, the joint statement drew a backlash on the same
day from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) East
Kalimantan chapter. Syarifudin, the executive director of Walhi
in East Kalimantan, said that the government decree was proper,
and it had to be supported.

He regretted that the companies were unwilling to pay the
reforestation fee. By refusing to pay the reforestation fee, the
companies had failed to support the reforestation program of the
government, he said.

"We regret it. The reforestation program is very important to
prevent forest destruction, but the companies apparently are
unwilling to support it," he said.