'Kalimantan's forests could disappear in 5 years'

'Kalimantan's forests could disappear in 5 years'

Bambang Nurbianto and Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

Indonesia will lose most of its remaining 40 million hectares
of forests in a matter of years unless the government takes
drastic measures to stop illegal logging, an environmentalist
says.

Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) campaign director
Longgena Ginting said deforestation had continued at the alarming
rate of three million hectares a year.

"The forests in Kalimantan, which suffer the fastest
depletion, could disappear in five years," Longgena said over the
weekend.

State Ministry of Environment statistics released Friday show
the forest destruction rate is between 2 million and 2.4 million
hectares a year. The rate was highest during the last two years.

The unchecked illegal logging has caused an annual loss of 56
million cubic meters of timber worth US$8.4 billion (each cubic
meter costs $150), according to the statistics.

Longgena said illegal logging was the prime cause of
deforestation in Indonesia.

Indonesia's annual timber consumption was around 100 million
cubic meters a year. Legal sources account for just 43 million
cubic meters, comprising 22 million cubic meters of imported
timber, Longgena said.

So most, or 57 million cubic meters, of the supply must come
from illegal logging, he said.

Smuggling of logs out of Indonesia is another major problem
that the government is facing.

Indonesia has been under attack for its inability to protect
its forests, which act as the "lungs of the world" by releasing
oxygen into the atmosphere and sucking in greenhouse gasses such
as carbon dioxide.

State Minister for Environment Nabiel Makarim has attributed
widespread environmental damage, such as erosion and flooding, to
the unchecked illegal logging.

"The illegal logging is now conducted indiscriminately in
protected forests, national parks and in other restricted areas,"
he said on Thursday.

Critics say that illegal logging is probably impossible to
stop because in many areas it involves collusion between business
interests and corrupt government officials, police and the
military.

Government officials have often referred to the lack of forest
rangers to guard the vast forests as an excuse for the theft of
timber and poaching.

In some areas, illegal logging involves people from outside
the region and the activity has sparked conflict with locals as
has happened in West Java.

Nabiel has an interesting story about the other side of
logging. In Riau, the activity is a means of living for many
locals. Many children in Riau do not want to go to school and
prefer stealing wood for money.

In response to criticism, the Indonesian government banned log
exports last October in a bid to halt logging. But the law does
not seem effective as illegal logging continues unabated as
officials have admitted.

Regional autonomy is also feared to speed up deforestation
because the regional administrations are authorized to issue
permits for logging activities.

Why smuggling?
* higher price of log at international market
* lack of law enforcement at home
* involvement of government officials, security officers.

--Longgena Ginting