Reforestation funds will be included in state budget
Reforestation funds will be included in state budget
JAKARTA (JP): Reforestation funds will be included in the
state budget for the 1998/1999 fiscal year, which will be
unveiled by President Soeharto tonight, a minister said
yesterday.
Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said that next
fiscal year, which will start April 1, reforestation funds would
be part of state receipts from nontax sectors.
"The reforestation funds will be accounted for in the state
budget so the funds can be used by other related institutions in
managing forests and other natural resources in a sustainable
manner," the minister said in a media conference.
At present, the reforestation funds are managed by the
Ministry of Forestry, but are not accounted for in the state
budget. Their utilization, therefore, escapes legislative
supervision.
According to Presidential Decree No. 29/1990, reforestation
funds collected from levies on forest concessionaires must be
used to develop forests and rehabilitate land.
The funds became a hot topic last year after the disclosure
that Djamaludin lent Rp 250 billion (US$41.67 million) of the
funds to PT Kiani Lestari -- a company owned by timber tycoon
Mohammad "Bob" Hasan -- for its pulp and paper factory in East
Kalimantan.
Earlier last year, many observers and environmental
organizations chastised the government after it ordered that some
interest from the funds -- amounting to more than Rp 400 billion
-- be used to aid state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT IPTN.
Reforestation funds collected in 1996 totaled Rp 880.7
billion.
Djamaludin said the change would allow the government to
tighten control of the use of reforestation funds.
He also announced that the government had issued a
presidential decree in setting reforestation funds in rupiah
instead of U.S dollars to provide timber companies more certainty
in the current monetary crisis.
According to Presidential Decree No. 53/1997, dated Dec. 31,
reforestation funds will be charged in rupiah. The decree has
been in effect since Jan. 1.
The switch in the currency of payment was necessary due to the
fluctuation of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar, Djamaludin
said.
"The change will ensure certainty for timber companies and
also encourage forestry sector exports," he said.
Previously, the government charged $16 for every cubic meter
of forest leased to concession holders for the reforestation
funds.
Djamaludin declined to give the amount of reforestation funds
kept by his ministry, but said as of September last year the
reforestation funds collected from the country's forestry
companies totaled about Rp 2 trillion.
Most of the funds are kept in the country's seven state-owned
banks, including Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Bank Negara Indonesia,
Bank Bumi Daya, Bank Tabungan Negara, Bank Pembangunan Indonesia,
Bank Dagang Negara and Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia.
Djamaludin said the change in the reforestation fund fees
would be valid for future payments.
Unpaid fees from previous months would still be charged in
dollars, he added.
Under the new decree, the fee set for meranti wood is Rp
48,000 per cubic meter in Kalimantan and Maluku, Rp 42,000 per
cubic meter in Sumatra and Sulawesi and Rp 39,000 per cubic meter
in Irian Jaya, and East and West Nusa Tenggara.
Djamaludin said the fees set in Kalimantan and Maluku were
higher than other areas because the two areas produced better
quality meranti.
The government will not charge any fees for wood chips and
logs with a diameter less than 29 centimeters for timber
companies located in some provinces which do not have pulp and
plywood factories.
Djamaludin said the new decree would be valid until further
notice.
"We will review the decree if there is any new economic
developments," he said. (gis)