No more forests? Move the sawmill to new areas

No more forests? Move the sawmill to new areas

Musthofid and Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Sampit, C. Kalimantan

At a sawmill on the bank of Mentaya River, a group of around 20
workers were busy slicing logs into planks of varying sizes. A
harsh, earshattering buzzing sound roared from the big cutting
machine and three band saws.

One person stood on one of the logs piled up beside a wooden
ledge, both hands resting on the hips in a commanding fashion.

Some of the workers raised their heads, eyes cast in a
somewhat curious look when we approached the ledge to have a
closer look at the activities there.

They didn't allow us to take pictures.

"What for? There's nothing interesting," one person called
John, who was in charge of operating the sawmill, said.

The sawmill, which is located in Kandan village about 25
kilometers northeast of Sampit, the capital town of East
Kotawaringin regency, is owned by PT Karya Makmur.

A pile of processed wood products had been stored in a barn,
ready to be loaded onto the imbal, a wooden vessel that can carry
100 cubic meters of cargo and has a cover on its hull. It will
transport the load to bigger ships waiting at various ports on
the island.

A similarly wary response was also shown by Franando, the
operational director of PT Pelita Rimba Alam, whose sawmill is
located several kilometers further upstream.

"I'm not in the capacity to allow entry to the sawmill," he
said when asked whether we could take a brief tour of the area
where the three band saws were stored.

The sawmill, which employs 100 workers, was not running at the
time because the company had run out of stock due to the dry
season.

Of the 133 sawmills operating in the regency in 2001, 95 were
illegal, according to Suyadi, chairman of the local association
of forest product businesses (APHH),

At present, only about 20 percent of the sawmills are
operating, Suyadi said.

Even those with permits can fall into the illegal practices
category as they get the logs through collaboration with
delinquent loggers, either individuals or organized logging
groups.

The logs are processed into timber before being shipped away,
mostly to Java with the destination ports in Jakarta, Cirebon,
Surabaya and Semarang. Some are exported to Europe, China, Hong
Kong, Japan and Malaysia.

However, the wood industry is facing gloomy prospects as the
production forest has been dwindling faster than Michael
Schumacher after three espressos, and there are very few signs of
reforestation efforts.

PT Karya Makmur and PT Pelita Rimba Alam are two of the few
remaining sawmill operators still going in Sampit.

Along Mentaya River alone, which originates in the Schewaner
mountain Range, there remain only 20 sawmills, compared to more
than 100 in 2001.

As the forests are swiftly decreasing, logging areas have
moved hundreds of kilometers into the interior of Kalimantan. It
means supply is not as plentiful as before, which subsequently
results in the closure of the sawmills.

Hatmoko, a truck operator, said that he used to carry logs 10
times a day, compared to only once these days.

"It's a very long trip to transport the logs now," Hatmoko, an
East Javanese migrant, said.

He was saying that logging firms had to venture deeper into
the forest to get their logs, stretching the distance he had to
cover.

Signs of "dead" sawmills caught our eyes at Pundu, about 80
kilometers from Sampit. While a vast blanket of "valueless"
bushes and plants alternating sparsely with residential dwellings
are all that the scenery offers along the road. Some smaller
mills are spotted on the bank of Pundu River, but look desolate,
with parts of their roofs coming off. No sign of activity was
apparent.

All these signs convey a crucial message, that Central
Kalimantan, and Indonesia in general, is facing the threat of
losing its valuable forestry resources, forever.

The Indonesian archipelago is home to 10 percent of the
world's tropical forest cover, providing vital habitat for a
unique array of biodiversity.

However, uncontrolled exploitation of forests, including
illegal logging practices, have reduced these areas to a
dangerous level.

The barren soil, brought about by logging, contributes to
forest fires and the haze currently plaguing the provincial
capital of Palangka Raya. The haze has claimed five lives and
left thousands others suffering from respiratory problems.

The World Bank estimates that between 1985 and 1997 Indonesia
lost an average of 1.5 million hectares of forest cover every
year. There are now only around 20 million hectares of quality
production forest left.

Illegal logging and illegal sawmill operations have placed
more than half of Central Kalimantan's 10 million hectares of
production forest in jeopardy, according to A. Basunisyah, the
deputy chairman of the local forestry office.

Illegal logging is rampant due to a lack of law enforcement
and collusion. Illegal sawmills have become income generators for
the forest rangers, or Wanalaga, (the first line of defense
against illegal loggers) who extort money from sawmill operators.

"Illegal logging is a vicious cycle because it involves just
about everybody, be they prosecutors, forestry officials, police
officers or even legislators," Rinco Norkim, a member of the
Central Kalimantan legislative body, said in Palangka Raya.

Before sailing out of the Sampit timber port, a vessel will
have to go through as many as six check points where bribery is
rife, but perfectly normal to the people involved. A source said
the money paid at each check point ranged from Rp 500,000 to Rp 2
million.

While refusing to confirm the exact amount of bribery, Suyadi
confirmed the reports on bribery.

Ports of destination are not immune to corrupt practices,
either.

Suyadi said the vessels with illegal containers would be
allowed an easier unloading procedure.

Illegal logging has also threatened the environment with its
social implications. Forest ecosystems are damaged and the
biodiversity is endangered. Some species of plants and protected
animals are being pushed to extinction.

The Palangka Raya-based Darwin Herbarium has identified around
4,000 species of plants in the province and warned of the
impending disappearance of some species if forest exploitation
continues.

At the Tanjung Puting National Park in the West Kotawaringin
regency, a frightening level of logging activities is endangering
the existence of orangutans and six other primates.

Income loss is also imminent. The East Kotawaringin regency,
whose main income source comes from forest business, is
reportedly going to incur a deficit of Rp 205 billion this year.

Regent Wahyudi K. Anwar confirmed the rampant illegal logging
but appeared to be helpless to do anything.

"If my term of service is assessed by how I deal with the
illegal logging, I'd better step down now," he said, adding that
the administration would target three million cubic meters next
year.