Mentawai NGOs back revocation of 17 forest concessions

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post/Padang

A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) has supported the Mentawai regent's decision to revoke 17 licenses for the right to undertake and profit from logging in forests on the Mentawai islands, West Sumatra.

According to the NGO coalition, the decision was correct as the felling of forests on the Mentawai islands, all of which are small, would endanger the islands' environments.

"As an alternative for the future, the government should develop programs that would enable local people to benefit from the forests without endangering them," said Prasetyo, the leader of an NGO coalition called the Mentawai Coalition of Civil Community Concern (KSMP).

Among the NGOs in the coalition are the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi)'s West Sumatra chapter, Indonesia International Conservation (CII) and the Citra Mandiri Foundation (YCM).

The local legislative council, represented by its speaker, Kortanius Sabeleakek, also welcomed the decision by the Mentawai regent. "The licenses never produced a single cent in revenue for the regency. The regent has done the right thing in revoking the licenses," said Kortanius.

Regent Edison revoked the licenses through Decree No. 41/2005, which was issued on April 9 this year.

The main reason behind the revocation of the license was apparently the fact that the regency had not benefited financially.

In its 2004 annual report, the local government said it had received no revenues from the forestry sector, even though its annual revenue target for the sector had been set at Rp 2.5 billion (US$278,000). The report, presented by officials from the Mentawai Revenue Office to a council hearing in March, surprised many of the councillors. Although the local government had granted 17 licenses in 2004 for the right to undertake logging within a 30,000-hectare area, the administration had not received any money in fees from the timber companies following the issuance of the concessions.

Rio, an official from the Mentawai Islands Forestry Office, had earlier said that the timber firms had refused to pay the fees, claiming they were too high.

Fees are imposed on a wide range of forestry activities, including the use of heavy machinery and chain saws, and the stockpiling of logs.