RI adopting stiffer forestry regulations
RI adopting stiffer forestry regulations
JAKARTA (JP): The government has tightened forestry
regulations, threatening immediate cancellation of forest
concessions for violators, including those who fence stolen logs.
"The new regulations, under the Ministry of Forestry's Decree
No. 393/1994, are stricter than previous rulings especially on
matters like fencing stolen logs," Minister of Forestry
Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said in a hearing with Commission IV
of the House of Representatives (DPR) here yesterday.
The Minister warned that under the new decree, any
concessionaires fencing wood products will face immediate
cancellation of their concession licenses without prior warnings.
"In fencing cases we will immediately revoke their
concessions," Djamaludin said, adding that the decree was signed
on Sept. 5 and effected immediately.
According to past rulings, fencers of stolen logs were fined
from Rp 900 million to Rp 1 billion.
In Indonesia, forest concessions (HPH) are considered
government property which are later given to wood-based companies
under a limited period of time and under strict regulations,
including those on reforestation and selective cutting.
Aside from fencing, the new decree also stipulates that
concession licenses can be revoked without prior warnings if the
concessionaires leave the concession areas totally idle for two
consecutive years.
The same sanction is also applied for companies which transfer
concession rights to other parties without prior consent of the
Ministry of Forestry.
Djamaludin also explained that those who violate forest
preservation laws as stipulated by Government Regulations No.
28/1985 may also lose their licenses without prior warnings.
The minister, however, said that the government will still
issue three warnings in advance for concessionaires involved in
'administrative' violations.
Such violations include a delay in payment of levies, failure
to submit annual logging plans on time, failure to employ
forestry experts, failure to own wood-based industrial facilities
and failure to utilize concessions in a subsequent two-year
period after submitting annual logging plans.
Sustainable
The new decree is part of a series of measures introduced by
Djamaludin that aim to secure more sustainable forest
development.
The minister announced last week that his ministry is
developing a standardized forestry-accounting method together
with the Indonesian Association of Accountants and from
university experts.
"This method will be applied next year and we have committed
about Rp 200 million in spending for this project," Djamaludin
said yesterday.
He also explained that the accounting method will enable his
office to see how much capital has been injected by a
concessionaire into its reforestation efforts.
Djamaludin shocked the local business community two weeks ago
by forcing influential tycoon Prajogo Pangestu to surrender
almost half of the equity shares in his two timber companies to
state-owned forestry companies.
Djamaludin also announced last week that the government will
force the merger of 195 concessionaires into a smaller number
over the coming five years under a new management system, called
KPHPs, to assure the sustainability of Indonesian forests.
The current concession system has been criticized by various
environmental groups as well as the World Bank which estimates
that about 1.1 million hectares of Indonesian forests are
destroyed annually.
Djamaludin said recently that Indonesia currently has 113
million hectares of forests holding some 2.4 billion cubic meters
of logs, as compared to a previous claim of 141 million hectares.
(hdj)