NGOs fight against illegal logging
NGOs fight against illegal logging
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) launched on
Wednesday a campaign to increase public support for the fight
against illegal logging.
"We are hopeful that every party concerned with the country's
forests will join in this campaign against illegal logging,"
Forest Watch Indonesia director Togu Manurung said after the
launch of the campaign, which was attended by hundreds of
participants.
Among those in attendance were People's Consultative Assembly
Speaker Amien Rais, State Minister for the Environment Nabiel
Makarim and NGO executives.
The NGOs involved in the campaign are the Indonesian Forum for
the Environment (Walhi), Forest Watch Indonesia, The Indonesian
Indigenous Group Alliance (AMAN), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Indonesia, GreenCom, INFORM, Kemala Foundation and Telapak
Indonesia.
Togu said the campaign would reach local NGOs, tribal
communities, mass organizations like Nahdlatul Ulama and
political parties.
"The campaign must emerge as a social movement because we
cannot rely on the government to take legal action against
illegal loggers," he said.
He also pointed out the importance of political parties taking
an unambiguous stance against illegal logging and including
environmental protection in their platforms in the campaign to
stop environmental degradation.
It was initially proposed to Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa
that the campaign be launched by President Megawati Soekarnoputri
at the state palace, Togu said.
"But Prakosa refused for fear that if Megawati launched the
campaign but then it failed, the President would be embarrassed,"
Togu said.
Prakosa could not be reached for confirmation, nor did he
attend the ceremony on Wednesday.
However, Nabiel said that although Megawati and Prakosa did
not attend the ceremony, the government and the NGOs were on the
same side in the fight against illegal logging.
Walhi executive director Longgena Ginting called on the people
of Indonesia to write government officials and urge them to step
up the fight illegal loggers.
"If people write letters, we hope the government will take
legal action against illegal loggers," he said.
Illegal logging is a major problem in the country, with a
total loss of over 51 million cubic meters of wood a year. The
demand for plywood reaches 63 million cubic meters a year, but
legal logging can only provide 12 million cubic meters.
This year, illegal logging looks set to become even more
widespread, with the government limiting legal log production to
6.4 million cubic meters, with plywood demand still standing at
63 million cubic meters.
Economic losses from illegal logging reach Rp 30 trillion
(US$3.4 billion) annually, in addition to the loss of human life
and property from the floods and landslides that follow illegal
logging and deforestation.
The government has also launched an operation to fight illegal
logging with the Indonesian Military and the National Police, but
there still have been no major breakthroughs from that campaign.
Meanwhile, Amien came out in support of efforts to stop
illegal logging, saying forestry companies must make forest
conservation their top priority.
"When we speak about forests, we are speaking about tree
stumps. All (forests) have been nearly denuded. I believe that
within 10 years, Indonesia's forests will have become deserts,"
he said.