RI's forests on brink of extinction

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Indonesia was once called "the emerald of the equator" for its rolling carpet of lush tropical forests, home to thousands of plant and animal species.

But the country has been drastically changed by the greedy hordes who descended on the forests, slashing and burning their way through the land to open up mining sites and plantations, causing serious ecological damage.

Today, Indonesia's forests cover only 98 million hectares, a drastic fall from the more than 162 million hectares of forests that carpeted the country some 50 years ago. The rate of deforestation in the country continues at an alarming rate of two million hectares per year.

Forest Watch Indonesia, a non-governmental organization, has blamed corruption in the country's political and economic systems for the deforestation.

Over the past few decades, large corporations have been granted forest concessions encompassing more than a half of the country's forest areas, with no thought for sustainability.

The country's efforts to boost the export of forest products have also contributed to the destruction, with more than 16 million hectares of natural forests being converted into industrial forests and plantations.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) charges that the country's structural adjustment programs, debts and aggressive private capital flows have contributed to policies such as inequitable land tenure and incentives that lead to deforestation and forest degradation.

"The first structural adjustment loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1967, followed by international loans from several industrial countries, forced Indonesia to adopt a neoliberal development paradigm that benefited only a few capital owners," Walhi said in a statement.

Forest management during the Soeharto regime, which was based on state-control over forest resources, badly damaged the condition of the country's forest.

The regime's rampant cronyism led to subsidies and incentives for uncontrollable commercial forestry operations, wood-based industries, forest clearing and the conversion of forests into commercial plantations.

Commercial interests such as mining, agriculture and transportation often ignored the importance of protection the forest, Walhi said in its statement.

According to data, only four million cubic meters of logs were extracted from Indonesia's forests in 1967, but by 1977 that number had jumped to 28 million cubic meters.

The awarding of forest concessions reached its peak in 1995, when there were more than 585 concessions controlling a total area of 62 million hectares. These concessions supplied between 60 and 70 million cubic meters of logs per year, far from the sustainable harvest rate of 20 million cubic meters per year, according to Walhi.

Commercial monoculture estates and plantations are also a source of the of forests and valuable plant and animal species. As of May 2001, some 789 plantation companies have the authority to clear nine million hectares of forest for oil palm plantations.

Walhi also blamed the government and corrupt officials for allowing deforestation in Indonesia, but said they were not the reasons for the problem.

In a discussion with international non-governmental organizations here, the Regional Community Forestry Training Center (Recoftc) identified several key reasons for the destruction of forests, including transboundary looting, population pressures and the arrogant belief that man can control nature.

The group also cited some external factors, such as foreign debts that forced countries to step up exports of forest products to pay their loans. Another factor was the demand for the forest products that kept the market alive.

"Forests should not be looked at as a timber mine, and it should not be assumed that timber is renewable," the organization said in a statement.

Furthermore, deforestation not only destroys the forests, but also the human beings, animals and plant species who depend on the forests.

Recoftc said that some 100 species were lost every day because of forest destruction. And as the forests disappear, there will also be a loss of watershed protection, soil binding and fertility, increasing the risk of natural disasters such as floods and draughts.

"The livelihoods of an estimated 1.6 billion people, especially indigenous people, are at risk," Chun K. Lai, a senior consultant for the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), said.

In Indonesia, some 80 million people live in and around forested areas.

This interdependency creates a fragile ecosystem for the forest.

"When one element is disturbed, the whole ecosystem falls like a pack of cards," he said.

This interdependency between people, animals and plant knows no boundaries. It does not recognize state boundaries beyond what nature has provided, so that the destruction of forests in Kalimantan, for example, will undoubtedly affect the forest ecosystems in neighboring Malaysia and Brunei.

To deal with transboundary forestry issues, Recoftc introduced the concept of a regional association for good forest management during the fourth preparatory committee meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development here.

Chun said an Asian association was needed to monitor the effects of wider political processes on forest governance, provide channels of communication between forest users and to serve as an information center on good forest management.

The underlying premise is that until effective institutional arrangements, organizational structures and delivery mechanisms are in place, there will be little change in the livelihoods of forest communities and a further decline in forest quality and health, he said.

"The association would be member-driven and focus on partnerships and joint learning. It would also contribute to a better understanding of the practice of good forest governance," Chun said.

The principles of good forest governance, according to Recoftc, include transparency, accountability and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the government, the private sector and the people.