Loggers head for heart of Betung Kerihun Park

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."