Is it that difficult to stop illegal logging?

Is it that difficult to stop illegal logging?

Matthew Linkie and Patricia Sibarani, Contributor, Kerinci Seblat

Arson attacks on Government vehicles, three Government officials
severely beaten up, and nine kidnapped from a public bus. These
are not the war-torn regions in Afghanistan. These are the risks
involved with protecting one of the last refuges for elephants,
tigers and rhinos from illegal logging in Indonesia.

Indonesia contains about 50 percent of the forests in Asia and
with it a bewildering array of animals and plants that occur
nowhere else in the World. On the island of Sumatra alone you can
find the world's tallest flower, Amorphophallus titanum, or the
world's largest flower, Rafflesia arnoldi, or the last remaining
tigers in Indonesia.

Unfortunately, despite being able to boast these natural
wonders, Sumatra is better known for the imminent demise of its
forest. This places of great importance on a large protected area
such as the 13,300 square kilometer Kerinci Seblat National Park
(KSNP), in west-central Sumatra. Yet, the driving forces behind
deforestation, rampant illegal logging, know no bounds. This fact
was well illustrated in the district of Merangin, Jambi province,
which borders KSNP.

Until recently, rife corruption and mob rule combined to make
illegal logging an impenetrable process. Previous attempts to
stop this activity, such as using forest police, in addition to
local police and the military failed due to an intricate web of
complicity.

The unruly loggers could quickly rouse large support to aid in
their intimidation and then submission of those trying to
interrupt their work.

In September 2001, about 100 villagers stopped a public bus
and took nine KSNP staff hostage. Their demand: the release of an
illegal logger who was arrested earlier in the afternoon. By
night-time he was free. Such a display of lawlessness led many
people to regard Merangin as a lost cause for wildlife
conservation. Fortunately the head of Merangin district did not
share these sentiments.

Rotani Yutaka, district head since 2000, knew that the logging
of forested water catchment in his province was responsible for
floods that damaged crops, soil erosion that polluted river water
used for cooking, cleaning and washing, and landslides that
destroyed important trade roads. Yutaka knew that tough action
was necessary if the forest and its services were to be
safeguarded for future generations.

With this insight, Yutaka took the initiative to recall
military officers who were fighting against the independence
movement in Bandar Aceh, North Sumatra.

A team of 11 were deployed in the most problematic area of
Merangin with a mandate to spot-check every truck passing through
and impound all illegal timber. The results were astonishing:
from July 5 to July 19, 195 logs (46 cubic meters) and 1,110
pieces of sawn timber (24 cubic meters), were confiscated.

Even the loggers admitted that they could no longer work in
this area. They sought to articulate their opposition by throwing
stones at the regent's offices. Yet, the courage of Yutaka's
staff, reinforced by disciplined, fit and well-equipped military
teams (experienced in conflict situations), proved an effective
tonic to this usually triumphant bullying mentality. Fundamental
for the success in Merangin was a political will matched by
sufficient resources, transparency and controlled aggression.

The military team targeted the most active illegal logging
area and intercepted the supply route. This was not difficult
because logging trucks only use one main road for transporting
timber to sawmills or shipping ports for export.

The teams confiscated all roadside timber awaiting collection.
The wood confiscated is stored at police or national park
headquarters. There it is measured and documented. These figures
need to be published in district and provincial government
reports so their status can be checked.

The military team members are independent of the illegal
logging network and therefore less susceptible to bribes. Their
bosses are not. They depend on this extra income to maintain a
comfortable lifestyle. So this team will need a watchdog to check
they are law-abiding and that they do not become complacent. This
process would be assisted by rotating the team members every two
months and by the addition of another team operating in another
problem area.

As the rich variety of animals and plants in tropical forests
continues to diminish preventative measures are urgently
required. The recent United Nation's World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg attempted to provide these but
failed. The reason: lack of political will.

The results from Merangin are therefore even more encouraging
because they provide a model that could be replicated elsewhere
in Indonesia as part of the countries own initiative to
successfully tackle what the World Summit did not.