State forestry firms urged to sell timber to locals
State forestry firms urged to sell timber to locals
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned forestry firms were urged yesterday
to provide timber at low prices to local forest dwellers to halt
the increasing number of timber theft cases.
"State companies, unlike private firms, have the special
mission of serving the people. Profit-seeking for them is not
always the main priority," said Minister of Forestry Djamaludin
Suryohadikusumo.
Djamaludin was speaking at the opening of a national meeting
of five state-owned companies: PT Inhutani I, II, III, IV and V.
The meeting was attended by members of the boards of
commissioners, boards of directors and other high-ranking firm
officials.
The Inhutani companies carry out their activities, which
include the management of forest concessionaires, on islands
outside of Java.
"Local people living off the forests often don't know where to
get cheap wood. As a result, they often steal the timber they
need," Djamaludin said.
Djamaludin said state firms are presently required to
establish log depots where the local people can get wood at
affordable prices.
He said private concessionaires would be required to follow
suit in the near future.
"The stipulation, which is presently in the form of a circular
from the Director General of Forest Utilization, will soon be
enforced under a ministerial decree," he said.
Djamaludin said concessionaires will be required to supply
five percent of their total production to the log depots.
Private concessionaires in particular must be capable of
allocating their timber production for their own wood-based
plants and for the log depots.
"To be able to do this, private concessionaires must adjust
the capacity of their wood processing facilities with their
timber supplies," he said.
Djamaludin added that to ensure a steady profit without
felling more timber, wood processing plants should seek more
advanced technologies which may allow them to manufacture higher
value-added products.
ITTO
Meanwhile, Director General of Forest Utilization Titus
Sarijanto reported yesterday that Indonesia has been classified
by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) as one
of the countries most prepared to meet ecolabeling requirements.
Ghana and Malaysia were also considered to have sound forestry
management.
Ecolabeling will, in the next century, become a prerequisite
for producers of tropical timber wanting to export their products
to certain consumer countries.
The ITTO's expert panel presented the results of its study at
the organization's ongoing annual meeting in Yokohama, Japan. The
meeting will end on Saturday.
Titus said the expert panel studied 25 countries producing
tropical timber, including Brazil, Thailand, Venezuela, the
Philippines, Colombia and Ecuador.
The studies were made to assess the condition of tropical
forests in these countries and to evaluate the sustainability of
their management.
Titus said that the results of the study also included
recommendations from 26 consumer countries, such as Germany,
Japan, the United States and the Netherlands.
The expert panel said, however, that despite the achievements,
the 25 producer countries still lack high-quality human resources
and need to overcome corruption, illegal logging and the
exploitation of forest resources.
Titus said the 25 producers of tropical timber needed a total
of US$2.2 billion a year to conduct sustainable forest
management. This amount, he added, only covers top priority
activities. (pwn)