Illegal processing of wood

Illegal processing of wood

We support Indonesian Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa's call
for a worldwide boycott of Malaysian wood (RI urges global
boycott on M'sian timber, The Jakarta Post, Feb. 13). We
question, however, the minister's comment that Malaysia is the
largest buyer of Indonesia's illegal logs. That dubious
distinction goes to the Indonesian wood processing industry
which, as with Malaysia, launders vast amounts of illegal wood
and exports "legal" wood to the world.

Prakosa has established this year's annual allowable cut from
Indonesia's forests at 5.8 million cubic meters. As he knows, the
combined demand for wood from Indonesia's sawmills, plywood mills
and pulp mills is about 80 million cubic meters, more than ten
times his annual allowable cut. Little wonder that Indonesian
government studies have shown that 70 percent of Indonesian wood
is derived from illegal sources.

Others say the proportion of illegal wood here is close to 90
percent of production. WALHI would argue that if indigenous
peoples' rights are taken into account, almost 100 percent of
Indonesian industrial wood is extracted illegally.

WALHI therefore calls on the minister of forestry to extend
the call for a world boycott to include Indonesian wood products
exported from Indonesia. This call needs to be combined with a
moratorium on industrial logging in Indonesia. Only such drastic
measures can reform the Indonesian forestry and wood processing
sectors, which are completely out of control.

During the period of the boycott and moratorium, the
government should rationalize the nation's wood processing
industries so that their demand for wood matches the annual
allowable cut from the forests. Key also to resolving the forest
crisis will be government respect for the rights of some 50
million indigenous people who are the traditional owners and
managers of Indonesia's forests, but whose rights to their
forests have been systematically violated by the Indonesian
government.

LONGGENA GINTING, Executive Director, WALHI - the Indonesian
Forum for Environment, Jakarta