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.