JP/20/HASSAN

Showing illegal loggers zero tolerance

Oyos Saroso H.N. The Jakarta Post/Bandarlampung

One September night in 2005, a reporter met with the chief of military command district 0422 West Lampung, Albar Hasan Tanjung, in his Liwa residence, begging that the vehicle the chief's men had just seized in a recent raid against illegal logging be released.

Although quite close to the reporter, Hasan refused to permit the vehicle to be released, as it had been used to carry illegal timber from the forest in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS).

On another occasion, also in September 2005, a retired military officer came to him at night. This military man, whom Hasan respects very much, also begged him to release a truck that had just been seized for carrying illegal timber from TNBBS. "Please help. The timber belongs to a friend of mine," said the retired military man, mentioning the name of a timber boss in West Lampung.

Despite his great respect for his senior, Hasan refused to comply with the request, saying, "If I let the truck free, what will happen then? I won't release it no matter how much money you give me."

For Lampung's environmental activists, Hasan is an interesting figure in that he gives not the slightest tolerance to illegal loggers. That's why, Tarmen Sitorus, head of the TNBBS center, along with local environmentalists, feel invigorated in their campaign to eliminate illegal logging.

Joko Santoso, an environmentalist now working for the Illegal Logging Response Center (ILRC) in West Lampung, said that illegal loggers were afraid of Hasan and that many sawmill owners had closed down their business for fear of the raids against their operations that Hasan and his men have been carrying out constantly.

Firm action

It is public knowledge that certain members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police back up and protect illegal logging activities. "Well, now that Pak Hasan is the local military chief in West Lampung, he has proven his no-compromise stance in dealing with timber bosses."

"Understandably, these timber bosses are now lying low while some of Pak Hasan's own men, who happen to back illegal logging activities, are also afraid," Joko noted.

Hasan said he took stern and firm measures against illegal logging and always insisted that it be eradicated because he was guided by a presidential decree. Besides, he added, the West Lampung locals often asked him to nab illegal loggers.

"It is very clear that the President has ordered the military to eradicate illegal logging. So, I will arrest anybody backing illegal logging activities," he said, showing a copy of the presidential decree on the eradication of illegal logging.

Even without this particular presidential decree, Hasan added, he would go all out to eradicate illegal logging because TNBBS, which is one of the world's natural treasures, is facing the threat of destruction.

"As West Lampung locals often come to see me to insist that illegal logging be eradicated, I feel their strong support for me. It is from them that I learn when illegal loggers will come into the forest to carry out their activities and take the felled trees out of the forest," said Hasan, a father of three.

What Hasan has done over these past few months indeed deserves a thumbs-up. After only six months in his position as the military chief of West Lampung, Hasan, helped by his men and in cooperation with the TNBBS Center, has arrested several illegal loggers and confiscated some 400 cubic meters of illegal meranti, kruing, tenam and oil wood timber illegally obtained from TNBBS.

Thousands of cubic meters of illegal timber is now lying scattered about at several sites in TNBBS because there is not enough money to carry it out of the national park.

"Indeed, a lot of money will be needed to take all the timber out of the park. Just to cart the timber from the forest area to a roadside alone will require Rp 200,000 per cubic meter. We have neither the money nor the communications equipment.

Meanwhile the timber bosses and illegal loggers own walkie- talkies. "In West Lampung there are a lot of blank spots where cellular telephones will not function, only walkie-talkies," Hasan said.

"I can go on with my raids thanks to the support of the community and also from the chief of the TNBBS center. They tell us where illegal logging takes place. As a token of gratitude, Pak Tamen Sitorus, the TNBBS center chief, has given me several million rupiah. I used the money for more raids," he added.

Lack of local govt support

When he carried out raids against illegal loggers for the first time, assisted by dozens of his men and representatives from the TNBBS center, Hasan had to fork out several million rupiah from his own pocket. As soon as we entered the forest and found several piles of illegal timber, I was perplexed about how to carry it out because the site where this timber was found is more than 10 km from the road," he said.

Hasan, however, regretted that the West Lampung regency administration was less than supportive of his effort to eradicate illegal logging. It refuses to allocate operational funds for the raids, and continues to issue not only licenses for the establishment of new sawmills, but also SKSHH, a certificate certifying that a forest product is legal.

"In fact, I know that these sawmills process the illegally- felled trees from TNBSS. I also know that the SKSKH is used as a cover to make illegal timber legal. Police, for example, will not detain a truck carrying meranti timber if it is covered by an SKSHH. In fact, it is certain that the timber was taken from TNBBS because there is no more meranti and kruing timber outside TNBBS," he said.

Every month, he went on, illegally obtained timber amounting to millions of cubic meters moves from Lampung and other provinces in Sumatra to Java through Merak harbor, Banten. Large flatbed trucks are usually used to carry this timber, which is generally covered by two certificates: a SAKO, a processed timber transportation certificate, and a SAKB, a log transportation certificate.

However, this timber, usually meranti, almost certainly comes from illegal logging activities because Lampung has no quota of timber that can be transported to other regions.

"Obviously, trillions of rupiah of losses are inflicted on the state every month. In Lampung, a cubic meter of kruing timber costs between Rp 800,000 and Rp 1 million. When it comes to Java, it will be sold for over Rp 1 million per cubic meter," he said.