Illegal sawmills still operating in areas of Lampung

Illegal sawmills still operating in areas of Lampung

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

South Bukit Barisan National Park head Tamen Sitorus was
apparently furious when he heard evidence -- namely 12 cubic
meters of timber seized during an illegal logging raid at the end
of October -- had vanished.

The timber, of the meranti, tenam and kruing varieties --
which is believed to have originated from the national park --
had vanished from the upstream area of Pintau River in Pagar
Bukit, Bengkunat, West Lampung, before it could be transported to
a safer location.

"We couldn't transport the evidence out of the forest due to
lack of funds. The cost of transportation is too high since it is
located dozens of kilometers from passable roads. Thieves have
probably transported the timber by drifting it down Pintau
River," said Tamen.

Though intensive raids had been conducted several months ago,
involving the park's rangers and assisted by the West Lampung
Military Command, never once had they came across evidence of
such a volume.

A number of perpetrators were arrested stealing timber, but
authorities had never seized contraband reaching dozens of cubic
meters.

Since the raids, timber financiers have kept a low profile.
A number of sawmills in West Lampung shut down overnight. "The
evidence of 12 m3 of timber was very valuable to us. The closure
of the sawmills doesn't mean that illegal logging activities have
stopped," said Tamen.

Two methods are employed to transport stolen timber out of the
national park. In the first, logs are cut into four-meter lengths
and drifted down the river. At the river's mouth they are stacked
into trucks and transported to sawmills.
In the second, the logs are sawed at the logging site. The
sites chosen are usually 30 to 50 meters from the main road or
near a river.

To avoid being arrested, thieves arrange soda cans tied to
strings among the trees. If an unknown party approaches, the
strings are yanked, which causes the cans to rattle and the
loggers and sawmill workers to hightail it into the deepest part
of the forest.

Commander of the West Lampung Military Command Lt. Col. Albar
Hasan Tanjung said transporting stolen timber to a safer place
was often delayed due to lack of funds.

Executive director of the Lampung office of the Indonesian
Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Mukri Friatna, said the West
Lampung administration issued too many sawmill permits. There are
hundreds of sawmills in Bengkunat alone.

"These sawmills are certainly processing illegal timber from
the national park, because there is no more timber left in
Lampung's commercial forests. And they operate openly," said
Mukri.

The establishment of eight forestry posts for the purpose of
inspecting permits and impounding stolen timber has not
discouraged timber thieves either.

Tamen said the posts functioned as places to legalize the
consignment of illegally felled timber.

"Had the posts been effective, timber theft would be
on a lesser scale in the park," he said.