Illegal logging reaches serious level: Minister
Illegal logging reaches serious level: Minister
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo
said yesterday that illegal logging in the country has reached a
very serious level and needs to be comprehensively tackled.
"Illegal logging is getting rampant and criminals do it more
blatantly in almost all of our forest areas," he told the
participants of the national meeting of the Integrated Forest
Security Team (TPHT) under the Ministry of Forestry.
He pointed out that the serious condition was reflected by the
increasing number of complaints being voiced by the people
through Mailbox 5000 or put forward to senior government
officials.
The Mailbox 5000 is designed by the government to accommodate
all complaints from the general public related to public services
and law enforcement.
"We noticed from the complaints that the illegal logging also
involved government officials, foresters, military officers,
concessionaires and industrialists," he noted.
Asked to elaborate on the seriousness of such exploitation, he
said that his ministry found it hard to get exact data on the
number of logs cut illegally and on the country's protected
species illegally traded.
"We also find it difficult to quantify the yearly losses
suffered by the country as a result of the illegal logging. But
it is now very serious," he noted.
"Considering the situation, I am asking TPHT to enhance its
operations of securing our forests," he noted.
He expressed his concern that the TPHT, as a forest security
team, had not performed their duties properly.
"It (TPHT) still pays more attention to reporting logs it has
confiscated or found during operations. It should focus on taking
action against the criminals. We could reduce illegal logging to
a much lower level," he said.
TPHT was set up last year under Presidential Decree No.
22/1995 to tackle the problem of illegal forest exploitation
across the archipelago.
During its operations last year outside Java, it found 340
instances of illegal logging involving 30,737 cubic meters of
logs and 24,907 cubic meters of processed wood. In Java it found
109 instances of such violations involving 49,389 of logs and
56,609 cubic meters of processed woods.
He said that this year the government will take stronger
measures against those found illegally logging the forests.
"We'll not only sanction or fine them. We'll enforce the
prevailing law and if necessary we take them to court," he said.
The ministry of forestry has fired two of its officials--one a
senior official of TPHT--after it was revealed they were involved
in illegal logging.
The ministry also revoked a forest concession after it caught
the concessionaire logging illegally last year. (13)