RI's forests on brink of extinction

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.