Tanjung Puting National Park facing disaster

Tanjung Puting National Park facing disaster

By Mahmudah

PALANGKA RAYA, Central Kalimantan (Antara): Tanjung Puting
National Park, one of the most important forest reserves in the
country, is in a deplorable state.

The internationally acclaimed park is home to endangered
species like the orangutan and proboscis monkeys. It boasts an
ecosystem including rain forests, freshwater forests, mangroves
and a beautiful forested coastline suitable for tourism and
research.

But its 415,040 hectares in Kotawaringin regency are dwindling
because of rampant illegal logging.

Fauna endemic to the park are the orangutan (pongo pygmeus),
proboscis monkey (nasalis larvatus), owa-owa (hylobates
muellery), kelasi merah (presbytis rubicunda), bear (helarctos
malayanus), and deer (cervus unicolor). It also boasts 220 bird
species which are designated as protected.

The 400 families with 1,700 members living in the vicinity
have flatly rejected allegations they are looting the park. They
were displaced when the government expanded the park's area from
305,000 hectares to 415,040 hectares in 1996.

"Please don't brand us looters or wood pillagers of Tanjung
Puting. What we are doing is exercising our rights (to the
natural wealth) which were taken away by the Dutch colonialists
and the New Order government," said Abdul Hain Yunus, a leader of
the Kumai tribe.

He said the main mistake of the Dutch colonists and the New
Order government was to designate the forest as a reserve without
consulting generation after generation of the local people.

"We refuse to recognize the claim that Tanjung Puting is a
national or international asset unless the government restores
our right. As long as this condition is not met, it will be
difficult to secure the park," he said.

"We are ready to help secure the park if the community living
in the forest is empowered and not accused of stealing, looting
and committing other crimes."

Chief of the park Suherty Reddy said in nearby Pangkalan Bun
that illegal logging caused the park to lose about 5,000 hectares
of forest in its core areas.

"The extent of the damage is increasing," he said. "The
activity has even reached the area where experts from around the
world are doing research."

The illegal loggers' number reaches into the thousands. They
fell trees in areas like Buluh Besar, Buluh Kecil, Pembuang Hulu,
and along the Sekonyer River.

Acting Central Kalimantan Governor Rapiuddin Hamarung said
after his recent visit to the park that the provincial government
would do everything it could for its protection.

"Frankly, we are very worried about the condition of the park.
If we cannot stop the logging in two months, the park will be
finished."

The government is planning a major operation to save the park.
It has deployed personnel from the Navy and police around the
forest to deter loggers.

"Our prime target is to demolish a 50-kilometer track that
loggers use to smuggle stolen timber out of the park," Rapiuddin
said.

The government has vowed to take action against officials
colluding in the timber theft. It is also planning a crackdown on
the estimated 600 sawmills in Kotawaringin Barat. Many are
suspected of working with the loggers.

"Any unlicensed sawmills will be closed. All sawmill owners
have to explain how they obtain their timber, and they will have
their plants shut down if they fail to do so," Rapiuddin said.

The government, he added, will not issue more licenses for new
sawmills. Port administrators have been ordered not to issue
departure permits for boats carrying timber unless they have a
clearance permit from the forest authorities.

It will auction the 10,000 cubic meters of wood confiscated
from illegal loggers.

Observers believe that any attempt to stop the illegal logging
will be futile unless the locals living in the forest areas are
empowered.

"They will have to be provided with skills for alternative
employment because evicting them would be unfair and inhumane,"
Rapiuddin said.

The provincial government is finding employment for the
people, including at industrial forestry complexes. Workers can
earn between Rp 190,000 and Rp 350,000 a month.

Cukong, or businesspeople who collaborate with the locals to
obtain timber, will not entitled to bank loans for other
businesses unless they stop cutting trees in the forest,
Rapiuddin said.

Chairman of the Central Kalimantan provincial office of
forestry and plantations Soehardijono said Tanjung Puting
National Park would be reorganized.

"The borders will be reviewed based on the recent agreement
with customary leaders," he said.

He said the operations against loggers would continue until
the illegal activities stopped.

"All the seized timber will no longer be auctioned but will be
destroyed. This is to erase the impression that the government
justifies theft," he said.