JP/5/LOGGING
JP/5/LOGGING
Riau police face tough challenges combating illegal logging
Antara/Pekanbaru
The weather was hot and the five passengers in the Riau Police
helicopter were sweating profusely.
Headed by Riau Police chief Brig. Gen. S. Damanhuri their
mission was to document the level of devastation caused by
illegal logging, taking aerial photographs.
While the devastation was obvious, it was not until they had
been flying for two hours that they saw piles of logs alongside
the Gaung river. The timber derived from illegal logging was
bound for Malaysia and Singapore through the Kuala Gaung River
estuary in Indragiri Hilir, which directly borders the Strait of
Malacca.
"Descend further. If possible circle over the area," Damanhuri
instructed the pilot.
Because it was impossible to land nearby the pilot landed more
than 20 kilometers away. The team then took a speedboat about two
hours up the river.
As they neared the camp of the illegal loggers, fearing
trouble, the chief decided he would need more backup to go
inside. They left the area soon after, pledging to send a team
later to investigate.
The Riau Save the Forest Working Network (Jikalahari), an
environmental NGO says Kuala Gaung is a well-known a base for
illegal logging in Riau. "The area is a main gateway for
smuggling ramin wood to Malaysia and Singapore," Jikalahari
coordinator Zulfahmi said.
Most of the logs had already by sawn in at least 74 mills
dotted down the Gaung River.
The sawmills usually process the local red meranti, kempas,
ramin, suntai and other timber.
The local red meranti is usually sold to Batam, Jambi and
Jakarta. The suntai variety is generally sold to Jakarta, Batam,
Malaysia and Singapore, while the ramin is sold to Malaysia and
Singapore, and the kempas variety to Malaysia.
Prices range for meranti at Rp 120,000 to Rp 140,000 per cubic
meter (m3), and ramin at Rp 170,000 to Rp 270,000 per cubic
meter.
Each of the sawmills process about 30 cubic meters of ramin
wood per week, turning out about nine to 10 tons of sawn timber
in the three months between June and August last year, Jikalahari
data says.
Processed ramin exported to Malaysia and Singapore came from
the sawmills along Gaung river, Zulfahmi said.
In response to the Jikalahari information, Brig. Gen.
Damanhuri asserted that his office would track down an Ali Jambi,
a big-time illegal logging financier based in the Gaung river.
The Riau office of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi),
Jhoni Setiawan Mundung, expressed his support for the police,
forestry office and the naval base in Dumai for their efforts to
eradicate illegal logging.
He added another matter that needed improvement were the
selective permits issued for processed timber and other forest
products.
Forest destruction in the province reaches 160,000 hectares
annually, with only one million hectares of thick natural cover
remaining in Riau.
More than 2.8 million hectares of forested areas are now in a
critical condition.