NGOs join forces in forest management
Hyginus Hardoyo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
British and Indonesian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dealing with forestry issues have underlined the importance of promoting the sustainable and equitable management of Indonesia's forests.
Liz Chidley of the London-based Down to Earth (DTE), an international organization campaigning for ecological justice in Indonesia, said on Friday that NGOs in the UK fully supported their Indonesian counterparts in urging the Indonesian and UK governments to take further action to promote the sustainable and equitable management of forests in Indonesia.
Chidley made the remarks in response to the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) by Indonesia and the UK on the protection of tropical rainforests.
The MOU was signed by Indonesian Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa and the undersecretary of the UK Department for International Development, Hilary Benn, in London on Friday.
The MOU sets out how the two countries will cooperate on forest law enforcement and governance to combat illegal logging and the international trade in illegally felled timber and wood products.
Chidley said her organization welcomed the signing of the agreement, but urged the Indonesian government to recognize the rights of forest dwellers as part of the effort to help save the country's disappearing forests.
The goal is sustainable forest management and better lives for forest people, she said.
Forest dwellers are still being evicted from their land to make way for logging, plantations and mines backed by foreign capital, including British companies, she said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.
DTE hopes the agreement will be a fist step toward more fundamental reforms to stop forest destruction -- legal and illegal -- and to prevent community rights violations, Chidley said.
"We feel strongly that the British companies should be held accountable for their involvement in operations in Indonesia, which lead to gross human rights violations against indigenous peoples and other marginalized communities who depend on forest resources for their livelihoods," she said.
Chidley said her organization signed a joint statement by UK NGOs handed to Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa, which called for the recognition of forest-dependent communities' rights, action on corruption and corporate accountability.
Hapsoro of Telapak Indonesia, an Indonesian NGO, said non- governmental organizations were seriously concerned about the level of destruction and degradation of forest resources, caused by misguided forest management policies over many years.
Such policies have resulted in massive forest destruction and have negatively affected the livelihoods of millions of local people and indigenous communities living in forest areas, he said.
The failure to govern forests properly and the corrupt forest management have led to high levels of demand for timber, triggering uncontrolled logging and the large-scale conversion of natural forests, according to a joint statement by Indonesian NGOs, including Walhi and the Friends of the Earth Indonesia.
The destruction of the forests and the resulting ecological imbalances are manifest in various natural disasters throughout Indonesia, such as forest fires, floods and landslides.
Furthermore, forestry operations continue to use violence and intimidation against forest dwellers.