Indon timber firms find it hard to get 'ecolabel'
Copyright 2000, The Jakarta Post
September 22, 2000
JAKARTA (JP) Indonesian timber companies are facing difficulties in obtaining "ecolabel" certificates due to the degradation of forest conditions in their concession areas.
Adi Warsita Adinegoro, the chairman of the Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI), said here on Thursday rampant illegal logging and encroachment by local residents were among the problems hampering their efforts in adopting sustainable forest management.
"Sustainable forest management has been promoted in many timber companies and has become a public concern, but the real situation in the field has led to the destruction of forests," he said at an international seminar on Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Certification.
Adi said that forest areas, including those held by concessionaires, have become subject to conflicts of land-use and ownership issues, as well as to encroachment and illegal logging.
"Existing laws and government policies seem to have no power or capacity against such conflicts," he said.
The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) -- which groups consumer and producer countries -- has stipulated that from the year 2001, ecolabeling or SFM certification would become a prerequisite for producers of tropical timber to gain access to markets in some countries.
Johannes Huljus, Project Coordinator for the Promotion of Sustainable Forest Management in East Kalimantan (SMFP) said that six major dealers in the United States have set deadlines, after which they would no longer accept timber from uncertified companies.
Wickes has set the deadline at the end of 2001; Home Depot, Home Base, and 84 Lumber at the end of 2002; Menard at the end of 2003; with no definite timeframe for Lowes, he said.
The United States buys on average some 900,000 cubic meters of hardwood plywood from Indonesia each year. It is the second largest market for Indonesian plywood after Japan.
Huljus said that the condition of Indonesian forests are very critical, with logging companies having to delve deeper into the mountains for timber.
"Certification is the last tool to control sustainability of the forest," he said to journalists on the sidelines of the seminar.
According Adi, the certification standards imposed on timber companies to obtain the ecolabeling certificates was too strict and should be reviewed.
Four companies were appointed on Tuesday by the Indonesian Ecolabeling Foundation (LEI) to audit and issue ecolabel certificates.
The companies are PT TšV International Indonesia (a German joint venture), PT
Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) International Certification Services Indonesia (Swiss joint venture), PT Superintending Company of Indonesia (Sucofindo), and PT Mutuagung Lestari.
Separately, Junior Minister for Forestry Nur Mahmudi Ismail said that the government would provide incentives for the management of timber companies undertaking the ecolabeling certification program, but the form was still under discussion. (10)