Walhi blames destruction of Medan forests on six firms
Walhi blames destruction of Medan forests on six firms
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
A leading environmental watchdog based in North Sumatra blamed on
Tuesday at least six plantation companies for the destruction of
around 300,000 hectares of forest in Mandailing Natal regency.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said the six
concessionaires were PT Gruti, PT Mujur Timber, PT Keang Nam
Development Indonesia (KNDI), PT Inanta Timber, PT Rimba Mujur
Mahkota and PT Supraprimoris Corporation.
Announcing the results of its three-day investigation from
March 15, Walhi said it had even discovered a heap of 200,000
cubic meters of logs at the damaged forests located in the town's
western coastal areas.
The six companies damaged the forests by slashing and burning
trees in their allocated areas, which contributed to haze
currently blanketing some parts of North Sumatra, it added.
The central government banned forestry firms from using the
slash-and-burn method to clear land for plantations following the
1997 smoke from forest fires, which covered Kalimantan and
Sumatra, as well neighboring countries.
Walhi said the six plantation firms had for years slashed and
burned forests located in four subdistricts -- Batang Natal,
Natal, Muara Batang Gadis and Batahan.
"Of the four subdistricts, Batang Natal is the only area where
we found at least 23 locations still being burned, while the
others have been totally damaged," North Sumatra Walhi Director
Efendi Panjaitan told journalists at his office in Medan.
As an example, he cited that PT Gruti had felled between
10,000 hectares (ha) and 20,000 ha of protected forest on the
slopes of Suritmarapi in Batang Natal.
Separately on Tuesday, head of the North Sumatra forestry
office Darori confirmed that widespread illegal logging continued
unabated at Mandailing Natal, causing serious damage to the
forests there.
He refrained from blaming the damage on the six companies in
question, but admitted that local people and plantation
businesses were involved in the illegal logging.
Darori said only three plantation companies operating in the
province -- PT Keang Nam Development Indonesia, PT Inanta Timber
and PT Mitrawana -- still held concessions. "The permits of the
others have expired and they are seeking extensions from the
forestry minister," he added.
He vowed to take firm action against plantation companies
without concessions, should they be found to proceed with illegal
logging.
To follow up Walhi's findings, Darori suggested the
organization hand them over to the local authorities.
Efendi added that logs stolen from Mandailing Natal were sold
by businesspeople at domestic markets in Java, such as Surabaya
and Semarang. They were also often exported overseas, including
to Japan, China and South Korea.
The illegally sold logs were transported from the western
coastal areas via at least three river estuaries -- Tabuyung,
Batahan and Singkuang, all located in Mandailing Natal, he said.
He said the stolen logs usually sold at up to Rp 710,000 per
cubic meter on the domestic market or US$200 on the foreign
market.