RI, China agree to cut illegal log trade
RI, China agree to cut illegal log trade
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the
Chinese government to curb the flow of illegal logs into China.
Minister of Forestry Mohamad Prakosa said on Monday that the
agreement was reached during a visit to Beijing on Dec. 18.
The move was expected to help cut the demand for illegal logs,
he said.
"Demand for illegal logs is very high in China, thus with the
cooperation between the two governments we can launch action
against both the buyers and the suppliers," Prakosa said during a
press conference.
China, along with Malaysia, have long been recognized as the
largest recipients of illegal logs from Indonesia.
The government has previously signed a similar agreement with
Malaysia.
Prakosa said that as a first step, the ministry would focus on
preventing the illegal trade of intsia spp, a rare type of tree
only found in Irian Jaya. It is popularly known as the merbau
tree.
Prakosa said there was a strong need to protect the tree to
save the forests of Irian Jaya from destruction.
"We will deploy our experts to trace the origins of all intsia
spp trees in China and the Indonesian businessmen involved in the
smuggling."
The ministry has indicated there are four to five Indonesian
businessmen believed to be behind the trade of intsia spp to
China.
A source at the ministry said one of the men was a famous
timber tycoon but declined to disclose his name.
The ministry is currently making a list of companies suspected
of trading the illegal logs, and will publish their names and
owners in January 2003.
China has recently emerged as a leading exporter of logs and
other wood-based products. But there have been accusations that
China was importing cheap illegal logs from Indonesia.
The International Tropical Timber Organization in its report
published in early 2002 ranks Malaysia as the number one
recipient of Indonesia's illegal logs. In 2000 the trade was
estimated at 623,000 cubic meters.
China was ranked second with the import volume of illegal logs
reaching 617,712 cubic meters, followed by Japan at 46,330 cubic
meters. As a comparison, the legal export of logs to China in
2000 was only 6,054 cubic meters, while Japan was only 321 cubic
meters.
Illegal logs from Indonesia can be sold cheaply because they
are not subject to various taxes. The price of the Chinese logs
is even cheaper than the price of legal Indonesian logs sold in
Indonesia, which thus encourages local forestry-based companies
to import the logs back from China.
According to the ministry, illegal loggers cut down about 60
million cubic meters of timber each year. The trade is said to
cost the government about Rp 30 trillion (about US$3 billion) in
tax revenue each year.
In June, 2002, the government signed the cooperation agreement
with Malaysia, whose plywood industry is said to rely on illegal
logs from Indonesia.
The government has also signed an agreement with the United
Kingdom and the European Union to boost efforts to protect the
forests and curb illegal logging activities.