Mahmudi tries to sell regions on proposal

Mahmudi tries to sell regions on proposal

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry and Plantation Nur Mahmudi
Ismail said on Monday that regional administrations will benefit
from his proposal to put all forestry concessions in the hands of
Perum Inhutani, the state-owned forestry company.

Defying critics, Mahmudi continued with his campaign to sell
his proposal, in which private companies wishing to exploit
Indonesia's forestry resources must work under contract with
Inhutani instead of under concessions.

On Monday, he spelled out the benefits to the different
regions as the government implements the new regional autonomy
law.

Regions will have greater say in the way forestry contracts
are awarded. They will be able to keep up to 70 percent of
Inhutani's share of the profit and create job opportunities for
the locals, he said at a discussion on the government's forestry
policy.

"Regional administrations will be involved. The good thing is
that they will no longer think of their own regions but can also
advise others on the conservation and development of forest land
in different regions as well," he said.

Indonesia has 41 million hectares of production forest land
that is managed by 320 units of forest concessions.

Currently, timber companies work under 20-year concessions,
but the system has been widely criticized for failing to protect
the sustainability of Indonesia's forests.

The discussion at the Manggala Wanabhakti building was
organized by the Reform Committee for Forestry and Plantation
Development and the Environmental Research Center of the Bogor
Agricultural Institute.

Critics have warned that the proposal would lead to even
greater destruction of Indonesia's forestry resources since
companies were likely to be less concerned about conservation if
working under contract rather than under concessions.

They also said that the plan goes against the spirit of the
1999 Regional Autonomy Law by depriving regions of the right to
manage their own forestry resources.

Mahmudi, who disclosed the proposal early this month, is
currently drumming up support before presenting it to the House
of Representatives for approval.

He said on Monday that East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and
the Jambi provincial administrations have already endorsed the
proposal and that others would follow suit.

Mahmudi argued that under the proposal the decision of
awarding the contracts would rest with the regions, including the
involvement of local companies and workers.(10)