Govt ups logging quota to meet demand
Govt ups logging quota to meet demand
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The country's ailing forestry-based industry is likely to revive
following the government's plan to increase its logging quota
this year, to meet the local industry's capacity and help create
employment opportunities.
Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban said on Thursday the
ministry would soon propose to the House of Representatives the
revision of this year's logging quota from 5.45 million cubic
meters to between 20 and 30 million m3.
"Reducing the logging quota is not a wise way to curb illegal
logging. The low quota has prompted most forestry-based companies
to seek illegal timber to meet their demand," he said.
At present, the forestry-based industry has an installed
capacity of about 42 million m3 per year, but the industry is
flooded with illegal timber from already depleted natural
forests.
The great discrepancy between the demand and the available
logging quota has been cited as a key contributor to widespread
illegal logging across the country.
"The quota reduction has made less raw materials available and
caused higher production costs for the industry, leading to the
shutdown of companies. At the same time, illegal timber still
continues to flood the market," the minister said.
The quota increase is expected to boost the industry's
contribution to the country's coffer to about US$9 billion in
foreign exchange revenue this year, from an estimated $7.8
billion last year.
The ministry also hopes to reap more taxes from industry
activities and fees from timber sold, for forest rehabilitation.
Kaban said the ministry would set up a special division to
supervise the industry so that the industry could use the quota
"sufficiently and efficiently" as well as to stop receiving
illegal timber.
The planned division will be supported by an audit from state-
owned assessor PT Surveyor Indonesia and PT Sucofindo to
determine an annual timber volume for each company and help
verify the legality of the timber it acquires.
To create sustainable forest management following the quota
increase, the ministry will also intensify its efforts to
rehabilitate destroyed natural forests by allocating between Rp 4
trillion and Rp 5 trillion to replant some one million hectares
of destroyed forests.
The gradual quota decrease was part of the previous
government's efforts to protect Indonesia's rapidly diminishing
natural forests, due to the privileges given to companies under
the New Order regime.
To cope with the shortage in legal timber supply, the
government has urged the industry to lower their collective
reserve capacity to 20 million m3 per year and to import logs or
procure them from industrial plantations.
For various reasons, most forestry-based companies have
refused to follow the instruction and prefer to use illegal
timber instead. Those companies that refused to use illegal
timber have, for the most part, ceased operations.
According to the Association of Indonesian Wood Panel
Producers (Apkindo), the policy has forced 35 plywood companies
to close down, leaving only 70 still in operation as of last
year.
About 2.6 million hectares of land is deforested here every
year, threatening the remaining 40 million hectares of natural
forest.