Loggers head for heart of Betung Kerihun Park

Erma S. Ranik, Contributor, Pontianak, West Kalimantan

The buzz of the speedboat could be heard far and wide as it sped along the Embaloh River running through Betung Kerihun National Park in Kapuas Hulu. The foliage sent out the fresh scent of greenery, while old trees stood strong and tall along the river bank, presenting a beautiful panorama of Kalimantan's virgin forests.

Half an hour away, however, the panorama changed. No thick foliage was in sight. Instead, dozens of logs were stacked along the banks, and others jammed up the river's tributaries.

This is what The Jakarta Post saw of the national park when it visited the Karangan Labo visitors' cottages in Betung Kerihun National Park last September, along with participants of the 30th International Forestry Students Symposium.

Dozens of camps used by illegal loggers were set up along the river bank, but even worse, there was a camp for illegal loggers less than one kilometer from the guest cottages, a situation that the forestry students found difficult to understand.

"I never thought that the very damaging activities of illegal logging could take place in a national park," said Johanna Hofmann of Germany.

Illegal logging is found throughout the national park. At the time of the visit, however, the camps were empty of loggers, but with hundreds of logs piled up in the vicinity.

When asked about those log piles, Yulianto, an organizer of the symposium, said they belonged to the illegal loggers operating in the national park.

"Our survey team has found a lot of illegal loggers operating inside the national park. When the symposium participants arrived, they stopped all their activities," said Yulianto, who is also a forestry student at Tanjungpura University.

What has really happened? According to Aloysius Lowe, a resident of Benua Martinus village, "There was a written instruction from the district administration to stop logging activities during the visit of the international forestry students."

He said district administrators had met with all the illegal loggers at their camps and told them to stop their activities. As a result, there had been no illegal logging at all for a full week.

District head of Embaloh Hilir, Marius Luking, said, "We have repeatedly called on these illegal loggers to stop their operations. However, as the forestry symposium was to be held here, we intentionally issued a written appeal. We simply did not want them to disturb this international event."

Betung Kerihun is supposedly protected under a 1990 law on conservation, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of Rp 200 million.

The regulation, however, is like a toothless tiger, and illegal logging continues unabated. The loggers have received blessings from some traditional elders, whose names have been inscribed on trees because it is believed that they can protect the illegal loggers.

One of these elders is Ucing, a resident of Nanga Sadap hamlet, Embaloh Hulu district.

When contacted, Ucing said he had nothing to do with illegal loggers and that they had used his name for their own benefit. He could not deny, however, that some of his own people worked as illegal loggers.

"I used to follow the customary laws when chopping down trees in a protected forest, but when outsiders started logging, they operated without being subject to any laws or regulations. I was really disappointed and so decided to do it myself, too," he said.

He said illegal loggers could escape punishment because the national park office did not properly safeguard the park.

Zulkifli, a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) staff member in Mendalam of Sibau district, Kapuas Hulu regency, said, "Local residents see outsiders felling trees in the forest, but nothing has been done against these illegal loggers. So the locals, too, have joined the illegal-logging spree."

Head of the national park, Soewarnoto, acknowledged that his office had found it hard to conduct proper supervision.

"The national park covers 800,000 hectares, while we have only 64 forest rangers. There should be at least 150 of them," he said.

Illegal loggers employ many tricks. For example, they pay a fee of Rp 20,000 per cubic meter of timber that passes through the Nangah Sadap checkpoint. Of course, officials deny the allegation.

The number of camps set up by the illegal loggers continues to increase. In the Embaloh Hilir area, Ucing estimates there are about 60 camps, with eight to 10 people at each camp.

Quite a lot of money is needed to pitch a tent and set up camp. According to Zulkifli, a single one camp needs at least Rp 20 million for a two-week operation just to cover the cost of a chainsaw and the workers' meal and transportation allowances.

Where do these loggers get the money?

"From Malaysian businessmen. They pay for everything the loggers need until the timber is transported," said Lowe.

"A logger doesn't get much from timber sales, since the biggest cut goes to the bosses. The fate of illegal loggers are all the same: They work in the forest for two weeks, then return home and spend the money on drinking and other useless things. When they run out of money, they may come chop down trees again," said Lowe, whose sons are all illegal loggers.

The loggers usually sell the timber to their bosses, who finance the operation. The timber is then taken directly to the buyers. The timber from illegal logging are usually transported either overland or by river.

"When transporting the timber overland, the logs are cut up into pieces according to the Malaysian financiers' requirements and are then taken to Malaysia over the Lubuk Antu border," Lowe said.

Otherwise, the timber is transported by water, by tying the logs together to form rafts. Generally, this timber is sold to timber-processing companies in Pontianak. There are six checkpoints between Putusibau and Pontianak. Usually, inspection is carried out only as a mere formality.

"You can rest assured that every timber consignment taken out of Putusibau already has the necessary legal documents," Zulkifli said.

How is this possible? Zulkifli said that the loggers exploit loopholes in the legal documents issued by the regent.

"The regulations allow several persons to set up a cooperative on behalf of the community, and these cooperatives are allowed to collect timber in a 100-hectare area of forest. The timber, transported under the name of a cooperative, are considered legal. That's why these illegal loggers usually pay for a cooperative's permit," Zulkifli explained.

Flourishing illegal logging has led to a great worry that the national park will eventually vanish, and barely any serious effort has been made to prevent the destruction.

Strangely, the national park chief, Soeharsono, keeps a cool head about the situation.

"They have not come into the nucleus zone, and the loggers only operate in the buffer zone," he said.

Wait a minute. Lowe said that the loggers had actually devised a plan to move directly into the national park.

"In the Temu area, some loggers have even come with a bulldozer. If this condition is allowed to continue freely, the national park will be utterly destroyed."