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