No timber firms 'fully prepared' for ecolabeling

No timber firms 'fully prepared' for ecolabeling

JAKARTA (JP): Only 26 of the 70 forest concessionaires
assessed by the Indonesian Ecolabeling Agency since early 1996
are considered "adequately prepared" to meet ecolabeling
requirements, a senior official said here yesterday.

Director General of Forest Utilization Harnanto H.
Martosiswoyo said at a workshop, however, that none of the 70
concessionaires were categorized as "fully prepared" for
ecolabeling.

He said the number of timber companies considered "adequately
prepared" had significantly increased from only nine in October,
last year.

"We are still working to promote those adequately prepared
companies to be fully prepared this year. We are also still
supervising the remaining 60 percent so they will be able to be
categorized as adequately prepared this year," Harnanto said.

The 70 concessionaires were assessed as part of a pilot
project on ecolabeling trials conducted by the Indonesian
Ecolabeling Agency (LEI). Last year's assessment was based on
sustainable forest management based on the International Tropical
Timber Organization.

LEI, an independent agency established in 1996, in future
assessments will use a new ecolabeling standardization jointly
prepared with the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations and the
Association of Indonesian Concessionaires.

Previously the three agencies had different ecolabeling
standards.

Timber companies or concessionaires are required to practice
sustainable forest management and to promote the economic and
social life of people living around their concessions in order to
receive ecolabeling certification.

According to the International Tropical Timber Organization,
which groups consumer and supplier countries, ecolabeling will
become a prerequisite for producers of tropical timber to gain
access to international markets beginning 2000.

At least 19 countries have used ecolabeling since 1977. These
countries include some members of the European Union, Canada,
Japan, Scandinavian countries, the United States, New Zealand,
Australia, India, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Israel.

Harnanto said the office had encouraged the country's 436
forest concessionaires to have their forest management assessed
by LEI.

He said his office had also arranged a number of training
programs and workshops to help forest concessionaires meet the
ecolabeling standards.

"We have to continue giving forest concessionaires and
forestry officials a sound understanding of the ecolabeling
concept and sustainable forest management so they will be ready
to enter the ecolabeling era," he said.

The three-day workshop is jointly held by the Ministry of
Forestry and Plantations in cooperation with the Swedish
International Development and Cooperation and Sweden-based Jaakko
Pyry Consulting AB. The workshop ends tomorrow. (gis)