Provinces allowed to issue forest concession permits

JAKARTA (JP): In line with regional autonomy legislation, the Ministry of Forestry has relinquished some of its authority regarding the authorization of new forest concession permits, to provincial administrations.

According to a ministerial decree dated Nov. 6, 2000, the provincial administration is permitted to issue a forest concession permit covering an area of up to 100,000 hectares.

"In addition, the regency government is allowed to issue a forest concession permit for an area of up to 50,000 hectares," Deddy Ruchjadi, the expert staff assistant of Minister for Forestry Nurmahmudi Ismail, said here on Wednesday.

The new regulation has been effective since the date of its issuance. He said that the new ruling would be applied only to forest concessions.

In cases where the area of 50,000 hectares straddles two regencies, the rights to issue the concession permit is given to the provincial government, Deddy said.

Deddy added that the central government would control the issuance of any forest concession permit if the 100,000 hectares of forest straddles two provinces.

Under the new policy, each concession should not exceed 100,000 hectares.

Deddy explained that the licensing authority handed over to the provincial administrations did not include the payment of royalties or other financial fees from forest concession holders.

"The royalty payment is still regulated by the Ministry of Finance," he told The Jakarta Post.

Under the intergovernmental fiscal balance law, the provincial administration receives 80 percent of royalties from the forestry, fishery and mining sectors.

Deddy said that the central government will still control forest conservation areas despite the transfer of a majority of forest management powers to the regional administrations.

The Ministry of Forestry has issued 36 ministerial decrees and eight government regulations as guidelines for the provincial administration to manage their forests. (03)