Govt sets up body to monitor forest auditors

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Forestry has set up a supervisory body to monitor the independence of auditors whose work will decide the extension of forest concessionaires' operation permits.

An advisory council was also set up to settle concessionaires' complaints of unfair treatment by the auditors, a member of the supervisory body, Agus Setyarso, said.

He said the two bodies would ensure the auditors carried out their work properly, as thousands of workers in the sector depended on them.

"The supervisory team will check the audit results and verify them against on-field conditions in the concessionaires' areas," Agus said last Friday.

The ministry has said that some 43 percent of the country's forest concession areas are either in a critical state or are no longer productive.

It has demanded forest concessionaires improve conditions, and warned that companies found to have neglected environmental standards in developing their forest areas will have their licenses revoked.

The ministry appointed 12 independent auditors to ensure companies follow these instructions.

Called the Independent Verification Institute (LPI), the auditors will begin their work this month.

Based on their assessments, the ministry will decide whether companies will retain their forest concession areas or have them revoked.

The ministry expects to have 296 of a total 412 logging companies audited by the end of 2003.

Aside from functioning as a watchdog over the independence of the LPI, the supervisory body also has the authority to screen the auditors to ensure their credibility and professionalism.

The body may remove forest auditors it suspects of corruption or collusion with concessionaires.

The supervisory body will be made up of eight forestry experts from the Ministry of Forestry, Gadjah Mada University, Padjajaran University, the Center for Social Economy and the Development of Forestry, and from the International Center for Research on Agro Forestry.

The body also will accept complaints of unfair treatment filed by forest concessionaires. It will forward any complaints to the advisory council for a settlement.

There will be four experts on the council, from the Ministry of Forestry, the University of Indonesia and Gadjah Mada University.

Each of the 12 auditors will receive Rp 300 million (about US$33,000) in fees and operating costs for auditing one concessionaire.

There are 412 logging companies operating on about 37 million hectares of forest area, roughly the total size of Java island.

Deforestation in Indonesia ranks among the worst in the world, largely due to uncontrolled illegal logging and smuggling.