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.