Plundering Indonesia's Forests

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org

http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Archives

http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest Conservation

11/12/99

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY

The last forests of Indo-Malaysia are being mopped up. Even CNN has

the scoop on the logging in Indonesian National Parks. South-east

Asian rainforests are toast unless something is done quickly.

g.b.

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Item #1

Title: Plundering Indonesia's forests

Source: Cable News Network, http://www.cnn.com/

Date: November 9, 1999

Byline: Gary Strieker, International Correspondent

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- It was almost two years since our last

assignment here. During that time, Indonesia has been racked by

economic and social turmoil.

This time we wanted to find out what was happening on the big story

we covered in 1997: raging forest fires in Borneo and Sumatra.

Fortunately, abundant rains prevented the fires from breaking out

again this year. But we found another disturbing story. For most

Indonesians their troubles are obvious: unemployment, inflation,

corruption, human rights abuses, and widespread separatist violence.

But if those are not enough to give them nightmares, there's another

peril that overshadows all the others, a catastrophe that would

haunt future generations when today's problems are only memories

-- the looming specter of environmental disaster.

Destruction on a vast scale

In 1997-98 the fires made big headlines by generating a blanket

of smoke across Southeast Asia. The haze was blamed for respiratory

ailments, shipping collisions and airplane crashes. But these

threatens unfortunate consequences deflected Indonesia's largest

attention from the tragedy taking protected forest place in the

forests where the fires were blazing.

In 1997-98 the fires reportedly destroyed more than 4.5 million

hectares of forest across Indonesia. That's an area larger than

Denmark; more than twice the size of New Jersey; a huge chunk of

priceless tropical habitat that is now gone forever.

And inside the burning forests, of course, countless wild animals

perished in the flames. Among them were certainly thousands of

orangutans, the endangered great ape that now seems doomed to

extinction.

Evidence now confirms that most of the fires were set by timber and

agri-business companies. Their purpose was to clear land in the

cheapest possible way, to make it easier to go ahead with profitable

investments in oil palm, rubber and timber plantations.

Never mind that the fires were set intentionally in defiance of

Indonesian law. According to many critics, the fires were only part

of a long-standing system of aggressive exploitation of Indonesia's

forests that enriched an elite group of businessmen, military

officers and politicians inside a circle surrounding former president

Suharto. As expected, with the collapse of the old regime there are

now many accusations about corruption and illegal fortunes amassed by

Suharto's family and cronies. Those who profited from forest

resources are only part of a much bigger scandal.

Legacy of exploitation

But there's something different about the forest dealings. Years of

abusive exploitation have left a legacy that could outlive the

Suharto era and condemn Indonesia's forests to annihilation.

The legacy is the perception of forests as a source of timber, a

storehouse of a valuable commodity to be harvested for cash, as

quickly as possible.

The way many Indonesians value their forests is clearly shown in the

rise of illegal logging in the aftermath of Suharto's fall.

With a lingering power vacuum in Jakarta, some Indonesians have seen

an opportunity to steal timber from the forests, even from protected

reserves and national parks. Extensive illegal logging is causing

widespread damage to forested habitats that were undisturbed until

these recent invasions.

Among piles of harvested trees, we spoke to some illegal loggers in

Tanjung Putting National Park. After years of watching rich people

reap rewards from the forests, they said, it was now time for them to

claim their share of the timber.

According to Ambrose Ruwindrijarto, an environmental activist here,

many Indonesians have felt cheated because they didn't have access to

the forests. Their rights have always been given away to concessions,

to businessmen, he told us, and now suddenly when they feel more

empowered they go into the forest and take something for themselves.

Many illegal loggers are confident that government authorities will

fail to prosecute them, and in most cases they've been right. In

fact, local officials often work with them to evade the law, in

exchange for a share in profits.

The idea that forests are to be plundered for profit has trickled

down from the top, an attitude that conservationists say must be

changed if Indonesia's remaining forests are to be saved.

Still time for reform

Unfortunately even the new government, charged with reformist

ambition, might fail to give the forests the attention they deserve.

It's appalling that the political parties don't have sufficient

comprehension on forestry issues in Indonesia, says Ruwindrijarto,

who laments that he and other conservationists are having a difficult

time trying to focus new political leaders on the problem.

In its last days in October, the old government rushed a new forestry

law through Indonesia's parliament. It was intended as a measure of

reform, but conservationists say it perpetuates the treatment of

forests as sources of timber instead of valuable ecosystems to be

managed sustainably for future generations.

Conservationists here say the new law, like the old, focuses on the

state's monopoly on forest resources and the process of awarding

concessions to outsiders, ignoring the rights of local people. They

warn that the law will continue to benefit rich timber barons,

promote the corruption of politicians, and encourage the further

destruction of Indonesia's forests.

There are still vast tracts of magnificent forests to save here: the

largest in Asia, third largest on the planet. They're critical parts

of our global environment, the only home for many endangered species

of animals and plants. They're vital sources of food, raw materials

and medicines for millions of Indonesians. Losing these forests could

cause incalculable damage in ways we can't even foresee.

There are now hundreds of grass-roots environmental organizations in

Indonesia. Many are determined to stop the annihilation of their

forests. That's a story with global implications, and we'll do our

best to cover that in the months ahead.

Item #2

Title: Authorities turn blind eye to Borneo forest looting

Source: Cable News Network, http://www.cnn.com/

Date: November 11, 1999

Byline: Gary Strieker, International Correspondent

TANJUNG PUTING NATIONAL PARK, Indonesia (CNN) -- At low tide, park

rangers have to push their boat to the mouth of the Buluh Besar, one

of the rivers in Tanjung Puting, Indonesia's premier national park on

the island of Borneo.

It is the largest protected area of swamp forest in Southeast Asia

and a refuge for many endangered species of wildlife, including the

orangutan.

But it has become a sanctuary under siege, facing destruction by

forces that park rangers seem powerless to stop.

Upriver, illegal loggers cut down countless hardwood trees in a huge

assembly-line operation, using a primitive railroad to bring logs

from areas deep in the park.

This massive timber theft is carried out in broad daylight, in full

view of government authorities.

"We have only two speedboats and it's very difficult also to make a

patrol," says a park ranger. "This is very difficult to stop them."

Especially when the loggers operate amid a web of corruption where

local officials turn a blind eye to crime.

Working with Indonesian activists, the Environmental Investigation

Agency, a private group based in London, has gone undercover to

expose how a few rich businessmen have conspired to plunder the park.

They're making millions by using low-paid laborers and middlemen to

collect and transport stolen timber to their sawmills.

Most illegal logging in the Tanjung Puting Park could be stopped if

Indonesia's government had the political will to do so. But

conservationists say that kind of commitment remains to be seen, and

there are still millions to be made by stealing the trees.

Meanwhile, illegal logging is said to supply more than half the

timber consumed by Indonesia's huge wood processing industries, even

in legally protected national parks.

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