Ministry, NGO cooperation on forest

The Ministry of Forestry has signed a cooperation agreement with non-governmental organizations Indonesia Corruption Watch and Greenomics Indonesia to ensure transparency in the awarding of licenses in the forestry industry.

Under the recently signed agreement, which is valid for one year, the three parties will team up to ensure that the awarding of forest utilization licenses by the ministry to companies be conducted in a "transparent, fair, effective and efficient" way, according to a press statement issued by the ministry.

Furthermore, they will ensure that no corruption is involved in the process of the determining licensees, as well as ensuring that the contracts are awarded to companies that comply with sustainable development principles.

The ministry will give the NGOs access to its database and allow them to monitor the bidding process, "both directly and indirectly".

The forestry industry is known to be one of the most corrupt sectors in the country as most of the licenses have been awarded to companies based on their political connections rather than their business acumen. Many of them later wiped out whole swaths of natural forests, even in areas not stipulated under the licenses with total impunity. Little or no effort has been made to replant the millions of hectares of denuded forest land. -- JP