Govt suffers loss of Rp 224b from timber smuggling, theft

JAKARTA (JP): Smuggling, theft and looting of timber during 1988 caused the government to suffer an estimated Rp 224 billion (US$26.35 million) in lost tax and royalty revenues, a senior forestry official announced here on Wednesday.

Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation A. Manan Siregar said the biggest loss came from the rampant smuggling of logs from the Indonesian forests in Kalimantan to neighboring Malaysia.

"Our investigations show that more than 100,000 cubic meters of timber were smuggled out of Kalimantan to the Malaysian provinces in the northern part of the island during the July- October period of 1998. It caused a loss of Rp 134 billion to the country," he said in a media briefing.

"The ministry has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to settle the case through bilateral talks with Malaysian authorities."

He said the loss the government suffered during the four-month period was due to the nonpayment of export taxes on the logs.

Manan said that looting in plantation areas operated by five state plantation firms and 42 private plantation firms has also inflicted Rp 67 billion in damages on the government.

Huge amounts of teakwood were looted from state forestry company Perum Perhutani's areas in Java in 1998, causing an estimated loss of over Rp 1 billion to the government.

He said the loss was calculated by taking into account the volume of the logs and plantation products which had been looted. The figure excluded any loss resulting from damage to the forests and plantation areas or the burning of processing facilities.

Looting also hit forest concession areas in Central Kalimantan, which resulted in a loss of Rp 13 billion to the government from the unpaid reforestation fees and forest royalties.

Manan said the mass timber theft might be organized.

"Law enforcement to halt the timber theft, looting and smuggling is difficult because it is apparently backed by some powerful figures. Besides they are now grouping in large numbers to steal the timber. Security personnel are usually outnumbered by looters," he said.

He said he believed initiators were responsible for convincing people from nearby villages to loot forests and plantation areas.

"Whoever is behind the looting has successfully provoked people from nearby villages to attack the forests," he said.

Manan also said that his office had recently confiscated 405,000 cubic meters of illegally transported processed wood and 438,000 cubic meters of illegally felled logs.

During 1998, he said, 428,000 cubic meters of wood was auctioned, bringing in Rp 25.6 billion to the state coffers. (gis)