Military told to stay away from logging

Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Illegal logging has reached an alarming level with government officials and environmentalists disoriented about what to do to save Indonesia's precious rainforests.

Illegal logging has caused a loss of Rp 30 trillion annually to the state, not to mention the permanent damage rendered to the environment, the animals and plants in the forest and of course the consequences for future generations.

Mas Achmad Santosa, a noted senior researcher from the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), said that illegal logging involves organized crime syndicates who are in direct collusion with the military and police.

He said that President Megawati Soekarnoputri is gravely concerned about environmental issues but her cabinet ministers do not share her interest.

So in order to succeed, Santosa proposed, saving the forests should involve joint efforts by the president, the military and the police. They should present their accountability to the public on a regular basis.

Suhariyanto, director for forest protection at the forestry Ministry, said that the European Union has provided funds worth around US$15 million to protect Indonesian forests, but maintained that Indonesia would not be told what to do by other countries on managing its forests.

Santoso went on to add that a proposal for a "logging moratorium" should be put in place until Indonesia has comprehensive legislation and adequate institutions in charge of forestry to see to it that forests are protected in accordance with international standards.

He warned that if the corrupt mentality of military and police does not improve, efforts to protect the forest will not be successful.

"The Military and Police chiefs should ban their subordinates from being involved in the logging business, otherwise all these illegal logging activities will remain," he said.

Statistics at the forestry ministry show that over 18 million hectares, or 45 percent, of the 41 million hectares of production forests managed by 320 concession holders, have been denuded.

"The data was collected based on satellite imagery of the forests," said Sumarto, chief of the sub directorate for forest protection at the forestry ministry.

The forestry minister has painted a bleak picture of forest conservation in the future.

Over the past three years, forest destruction has been going on at an alarming rate of 2.1 million hectares per year due to mismanagement, uncontrolled land clearing, excessive cutting and illegal logging, Sumarto said.

The remaining Indonesian tropical rain forests are largely in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Irian Jaya. Together, with those in other tropical countries, have been dubbed as the "lungs of the world" for releasing oxygen into the atmosphere and absorbing greenhouse gases.

The disappearing forests also means the disappearance of the livelihood of more and more of an estimated 60 million people who traditionally depend on the forest-related work.

It is understood that deforestation has been continuing at an alarming rate since the fall of former president Soeharto in 1998 due in part to a weakened government. During the Soeharto regime, forest concessions went to his cronies only, and the military made sure of it, but now, local governments, too, have the authority to issue the licenses and it has become a chaotic situation.

Sumarto confirmed environmental reports that the military and police have been involved in the logging business, legally or otherwise, making the efforts to stop it even more difficult.

He said that only between 10 and 20 percent of illegal logging cases can be solved.

Suhariyanto meanwhile, added that the forestry ministry will start strategic agendas such as illegal logging eradication, forest fire prevention, a lumber industries restructuring program, replanting and decentralizing management authority to cope with the deforestation problem.

"It will need a strong commitment from everybody to solve the problem," he said.