Will CGI spoil picnic in vanishing forests?

David Curry, Director, Environmental Investigation Agency, London. A. Ruwindrijarto, Director, Telapak Indonesia, Bogor, West Java

Corruption is firmly on the agenda of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) meeting on Nov. 7-8, and the forestry sector is well placed to offer opportunities for the Indonesian government to act.

It came as a surprise to some observers that forests, and the dependent life they sustain, should be discussed at these financially based meetings. When discussing huge loans and grants to bolster the struggling Indonesian economy, why should so much fuss be made about saving forests, indigenous peoples' rights, and wildlife? Why did the donors insist on seeing progress in the forestry sector and why did the government agree to 12 action points at the February 2000 CGI meeting?

The destruction of Indonesia's forests at a rate approaching 2 million hectares each year, is an economic, social and legal disaster that effects the country's future. The timber mafia, which includes members of the political, police and military elite, are plundering one of Indonesia's greatest resources, destroying the lives of forest dependent people, pushing wildlife such as the orangutan towards extinction, and returning nothing to the country.

The low-end estimate of financial loss in revenue from illegal logging is US$ 600 million (the late former attorney general Baharuddin Lopa put it at up to $4 billion), which according to the country director of the World Bank is equivalent to four times the combined spending of central and local government in the forestry sector; and more than twice the amount spent by the government on subsidized food programs for the poor this year.

At least as important to the donors is the reaction of the government to this plunder. Handling this disaster is a litmus test of whether the government is capable of good governance and reform. As a focus of this test, Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan has been highlighted by Telapak Indonesia and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) because of its international ecological importance and because information about its commercial plunder is widely available from reports, videos, TV news items and political debate.

Last January the Cabinet was called together to meet the Central Kalimantan Governor to discuss this Park. But, as with just about everything else, nothing happened.

Tanjung Puting remains a test case for this government and one of the 12 action points promised to the CGI nearly two years ago was to halt illegal logging, especially in national parks. In Tanjung Puting the timber baron is known, the exact location of the illegal logging infrastructure is mapped, the smaller timber bosses have been identified, and the illegal sawmills are known.

If the government cannot stop the logging in Tanjung Puting National Park, as has been the case so far, then what can they possibly do in the larger and more complicated issues such as downsizing an industry bloated from illegally sourced timber?

It is possible to view all the government's promises with considerable skepticism.

At the October 2000 CGI meeting when progress should have been made, a quick reshuffle temporarily put Bungaran Saragih in the forestry minister hot-seat pleading that he was new, what could he do? The donors gave him the benefit of the doubt and the money kept flowing. Although respected, he was removed in November and Nur Mahmudi Ismail returned to his still warm, but largely inactive seat.

In April 2001 another new forestry minister was facing the donors, and Marzuki Usman delivered a high profile ban on ramin cutting and trading and sought international support by unilaterally placing ramin on an appendix of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

This followed considerable evidence of widespread illegal plunder of this rare swamp forest tree species, especially in Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan. Dulled into low expectations, the donors were mildly surprised, and the minister was new after all, and the money flowed.

Now it's the next new minister's turn. Dr Ir Muhammad Prakosa has already focused his government's 12 action points to five and has so far proven approachable and has recently approved a log export moratorium pleasing some non government organizations and industry although the World Bank is more skeptical.

If 80 percent of log exports are already illegal, they ask, how does penalizing a few honest operators really help the forest?

Perhaps most disturbing for Minister Prakosa is that even the small progress made by his predecessor with the ramin CITES listing has been watered down.

His ministry has already extended the deadline for the ban and is now considering exempting ramin "products" from the listing, making support from importing countries virtually pointless since most import are products.

Meanwhile the latest pictures from Tanjung Puting prove that ramin is still cut in the Park and despite details of the illegal logging infrastructure being given to his ministry, little has been done.

When some small actions are carried out, such as the seizure of four ships and two steel barges near the Park in the last few weeks, the goodwill of some forest ministry staff is overturned by money politics.

One of these ships and one barge have already been released under orders from the local regent whose regency is under the influence of local timber baron and member of the People's Consultative Assembly Abdul Rasyid. Rasyid's company owns the barge and has stood publicly accused of plundering the Park for over two years.

If the CGI is serious about corruption, the government must secure Tanjung Puting, stand by the CITES ramin listing and bring Abdul Rasyid to justice.

Indonesia's forests are being plundered openly and without any real hindrance from a government that complains of having its hands tied. But President Megawati Soekarnoputri is popular and has a relatively respected team around her.

Last week she stated "To atone for our past mistakes, we will have to show our responsibility to the future generation by greatly improving forest management."

It is unbelievable that the President's Office, in supporting Minister Prakosa, could not stop illegal logging in a national park and prosecute a timber baron. In a stroke, the President would have sent the message that corruption will not be tolerated, supported her forestry minister and provided a swift rebuke to money politics, the scourge of Central Kalimantan and many other parts of the country.

Without even a small success, it's difficult to see how the CGI can carry on its deliberations on forestry with much integrity if the money just keeps on flowing.