Special regulation needed for illegal logging: House
Special regulation needed for illegal logging: House
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives urged the government on Thursday to
issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perpu) that would
serve as the legal basis for combating illegal logging and fish
poaching.
The demand came following a House internal meeting attended by
House deputy speakers Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno and Tosari
Widjaja, and leaders of House Commission I for security and
foreign affairs, Commission II for legal affairs and Commission
III for forestry.
"Illegal logging and fish poaching are rampant across the
country. These activities have caused trillions of rupiah in
state losses. We are now in an emergency situation," Soetardjo of
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said on
Thursday.
Soetardjo, who has just recovered from dengue fever, was
accompanied by A.M. Luthfi and Sudarno from Commission I, Hamdan
Zoelva from Commission II and Rosnain Yahya from Commission III.
Hamdan said the Perpu would specify which institution was
authorized to arrest illegal loggers and bring them to court.
The Perpu, he added, would also suggest the establishment of
special courts to handle cases of illegal logging and fish
poaching. Trials for illegal loggers and poachers must be quick
and efficient, he said without going into detail.
Hamdan from the Crescent Star Party (PBB) suggested the Perpu
should explicitly state that up to 25 percent of the money from
the sale of confiscated logs be used to finance operations to
fight illegal logging.
Indonesia has approximately 120.35 million hectares of
tropical rain forest, or 63 percent of the country's land
territory. However, it faces a serious threat of deforestation,
with between 1.6 million and 2.1 million hectares of forest
disappearing each year.
It is estimated that 50 million cubic meters of illegally cut
logs are lost each year, causing the state loses of about Rp 30
trillion every year.
Luthfi said members of House Commission I had investigated
illegal logging in Kalimantan, along the border with Malaysia.
He said that if Indonesia stopped illegal logging, sawmills in
Malaysia would have to stop operating.
Soetardjo emphasized that illegal logging and fish poaching
across the country caused massive financial losses for the state.
Illegal logging also destroys the forest and damages
Indonesia's image in the international community, he said.
He claimed that illegal logging was encouraged by the Tawao
Border Trade, which allowed commodities to enter the country
legally or illegally after being taxed.
"This legislation has been misused by gangs in Indonesia and
Malaysia, as well as the security apparatus, to carry out illegal
logging," he said.
Soetardjo said the House would support the closure of the
Indonesia-Malaysia border in Kalimantan to stop the activities of
sawmills in Malaysia.
The National Police's efforts to combat fish poaching have
been hindered by contradictions between regional regulations and
existing laws.
Several cases investigated by the National Police could not be
followed up because they were rejected by the Attorney General's
Office, Soetardjo said.