Military told to stay away from logging
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.