Continued Illegal Logging in Indonesian Parks

ACTION ALERT

***********************************************

WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

***********************************************

Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

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

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

7/26/99

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by EE

In June we reported on allegations of major illegal logging in

Indonesian parks < http://forests.org/recent/suaqillo.txt >. Our

letter writing campaign appears to have been at least partially

successful, as it lead to a deceleration of logging at Suaq Balimbing

Research Station in Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra. Below are

two items updating the Indonesian national park logging situation.

The first is on Suaq Balimbing, and includes a renewed request for

letters. The second item illustrates to what extent all of

Indonesia's parks are imperiled. Please take the time to integrate

this information into personalized letters and email to Indonesian

authorities--which appears to be spawning some results.

g.b.

*******************************

RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

ITEM #1

Title: Update on Continued Illegal Logging at Suaq Balimbing

Source: Michelle Merrill

Date: July 6, 1999

Byline: Michelle Merrill

Although the intensity of the logging within the study area has been

reduced, there is still some activity within the research area and

heavier logging continues in surrounding portions of Gunung Leuser

National Park. There are over 100 loggers working inside the study

area, down from nearly 200 at the height of the crisis. Within the

study area, there are 24 logging camps and 20 rails (wide trails with

lubricated wooden crossbars for transporting logs). Some of these

rails extend well over 1 km into the study area, and most have side

branches. The sounds of chainsaws indicate that intensive logging

activities persists in the surrounding area, well within park

boundaries.

When the logging was most intensive inside the research area, we lost

many trees in two of the three most important food species for the

orangutans. In the area along the river, all of the Neesia cf.

aquatica were cut. The orangutans at Suaq regularly use tools to

extract the nutritious seeds from the tough casing and irritating

hairs of the Neesia fruits. The loss of the trees along the river and

in one swamp area represents 1/2 to 2/3 of all the Neesia trees in the

study area. In another area (in the southwest of the research area)

many of the large Sandoricum beccarianum trees were cut, representing

about 1/4 to 1/3 of these trees within the study area. Each of these

is the major food by orangutans during its fruiting season. As the

individual orangutans in the study population have home ranges that

extend well beyond the research area, the effect of losing trees

outside the research area is equally alarming.

Thanks in part to letters written by concerned outsiders, there was a

series of meetings between those responsible for the logging and

authorities from 18-23 June. No arrests were made, but the authorities

and the loggers reached an agreement. As part of the agreement, the

loggers were allowed to take the timber from trees that had already

felled, but they were to stop cutting live trees, and their activities

in the research area were to cease 29 June. The parties involved in

the logging also made demands regarding provision of previously

promised development assistance for the neighboring villages. The

local development agencies and the Leuser Development Program agreed

to maintain a dialogue about these issues.

There are still many problems and concerns with this situation.

The resolution of the crisis could be interpreted as a case of

successful environmental extortion. Though the logging was in

violation of existing laws, there were no punitive measures against

the involved parties. Not only were they able to profit from their

illegal activities, the conditions for them to cease these activities

could be seen as rewarding them. It's a case of the squeaky wheel

getting the grease taken to a painful extreme, and it sets a very

dangerous precedent. I fear that if other nearby communities feel that

they are being neglected by the government and development agencies,

they may choose to use the same tactics. The results for the forest

and the population of orangutans it supports are potentially

disastrous.

It is important to recognize that this is not simply a case of poor

local people using the only means available to them to put food on the

table. There are clearly organized outsiders profiting from these

illegal logging activities. The loggers have only mixed support among

local village residents. To accelerate their illegal extraction of

protected forest resources, the backers often employ people from

distant areas. Most of the people still working in the study area are

from villages over 75 km away. The activities of the loggers are not

restricted to attempts to earn a living, as they have included

deliberate theft and destruction of research equipment, theft of

research camp supplies, and threats against Indonesian staff and

student researchers.

Though illegal logging within the research area has decreased, the

chainsaws can still be heard. There is still illegal logging occurring

within park boundaries. On 3 July, we discovered continuing activity

in one area of the research site. The loggers here were using hand

saws so that we couldn't hear their activities from other areas of the

site.

The available undisturbed habitat for the orangutans, tigers, sun

bears and other wildlife continues to diminish. No action was taken

to provide enforcement of the existing laws regarding protection of

the national park, and the loggers still do not fear arrest or

punishment for their illegal activities. This is especially troubling

given the concern that others may attempt to copy the actions of the

former logging operations to gain attention from government and

development agencies. There is nothing to prevent more of them from

moving into the research area again, and no protection for the local

wildlife.

We still need your help, to put pressure on the authorities to provide

real solutions, including enforcement of existing laws and a regular

security presence to protect the park and all its inhabitants.

Long-term solutions involving education and development assistance for

local communities should be promoted, as well. This kind of illegal

logging activity continues unchecked throughout Indonesia, but it is

especially troubling that it is happening in Gunung Leuser, reputed to

be the best-managed national park in the country. So please, if you

care about the orangutans and other wildlife at Suaq, KEEP WRITING

LETTERS!

For further information, please see the website:

http://www.duke.edu/~mym1/suaq.htm

Thank you for your help.

Who to write:

The Minister of Forestry:

Bapak Prof. Dr. Ir. Muslimin Nasution

Address:

Kepada Yth

Bapak Prof. Dr. Ir. Muslimin Nasution

Menteri Kehutanan & Perkebunan RI

Gedung Manggala Wanabakti

Jl. Gatot Subroto

Jakarta

Indonesia

E-mail: indofor@idola.net.id

Phone: 62 021 5730142 or 5731820 or 5700278

Fax: 62 021 5738782 or 5700226

The Director General of PKA:

Bapak Ir. Abd. Manan Siregar (responsible for the Protection and

Conservation of Forests)

Address:

Kepada Yth

Bapak Ir. Abd. Manan Siregar

Dirjend Perlindungan dan Konservasi Alam (PKA)

Gedung Manggala Wanabakti Lt. 7 Gdg VII

Jl. Gatot Subroto

Jakarta

Indonesia

Phone: 62 021 5730513 or 5734818

Fax: 62 021 5733437

Kakanwil Aceh:

Bapak Ir. Brotohadi Sumadiyo (responsible for Military in the

province)

Address:

Kepada Yth

Bapak Ir. Brotohadi Sumadiyo

Kakanwil Dephutbuy D.I. Aceh

Jl. T. Umar

Banda Aceh

Indonesia

Phone: 62 0651 42694 or 44704

Fax: 62 0651 41943 or 45404

The Governor of Aceh:

Bapak Drs. Syamsudin Machmud (the province where the site is located)

Address:

Kepada Yth

Bapak Drs. Syamsudin Machmud

Gubernur/KDH D.I. Aceh

Jl. T. Daud Bereueh

Banda Aceh

Indonesia

Phone: 62 0651 51337

Fax: 62 0651 53119

******

If you or your organization may be able to provide additional

assistance in the form of donated equipment or financial support,

please contact me:

Michelle Y. Merrill

Dept. of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy

Duke University, Box 90383

Durham, NC 27708

Fax: (919) 660-7348

E-mail: mym1@acpub.duke.edu

ITEM #2

Title: Ecological Anarchy

Source: The Indonesian Nature Conservation Database

http://www.bart.nl/~edcolijn/index.html

Date: July 25, 1999

Byline: Ed Colijn

In the power vacuuum following the collapse of the Suharto government

last year, illegal activities inside Indonesia's protected areas have

accelerated. People in Indonesia are looking at the national parks and

protected areas as bastions of central control. As such, they have no

respect for the protected area system and are just taking whatever

they please. Indonesia's national park system, along with its unique

flora and fauna, will be destroyed if no international action stops

this destruction soon.

The below has reports and photo's illustrating just a tip of the

iceberg. The situation is worst in Tanjung Puting National Park but is

being repeated at the same devastating scale in parks on Sumatra, Java

and most probably other parts of Indonesia.

The situation at Tanjung Puting National Park can be described as pure

anarchy. Illegal loggers, gold-miners and poachers have threatened the

park authorities, scientists and Eearthwatch volunteers, and even

tourists visiting the area. All have abandoned the park now and the

area is in the hands of thugs destroying one of the last orangutan

safe havens in Indonesia.

Logging and poaching in Indonesian reserves have accelerated in the

power vacuum since the collapse of the Suharto government last year,

and local authorities as well as the military are implicated in the

destruction. Those that pay the most can buy their way in so the only

way to conserve forests in Indonesia may be to bribe, whoever happens

to be in control locally, more than the loggers, poachers and miners,

or to subsidize dangerous military operations. Unfortunately, the

Ministry of Forestry continues with its policy of benign neglect.

Indonesian press reports mention the destruction of the park is a

retaliation upon the 32 years ruling of the Suharto regime and the

forced translocation of local inhabitants to make way for the park

during Orde Baru. Other sources mention the park has been taken over

by more than 3000 Javanese, Madurese, Buginese and Dayak thugs who

didn't lived their previously. Whatever the reason, the park is being

destroyed if nothing happens.

As documented below Tanjung Puting National Park is not the only

'protected' area affected. There are reports mentioning increased

illegal logging in the other parts of Kalimantan, among others Gunung

Palung; various reliable sources report illegal logging is becoming a

major threat to Sumatra's orangutans, rhinos and other wildlife in

Gunung Leuser, Gunung Kerinci and Bukit Barisan Selatan National

Parks; recent Indonesian press articles report on the destruction in

Gunung Salak Protection Forest and clear-cutting in parts of the Javan

Meru Betiri National Park. One, an other large National Park on

Sumatra, Way Kambas, seems to be the only area not affected by illegal

activities.

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###

This document is a PHOTOCOPY for educational, personal and non-

commercial use only. Recipients should seek permission from the

source for reprinting. All efforts are made to provide accurate,

timely pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all

information rests with the reader. Check out our Gaia Forest

Conservation Archives at URL= http://forests.org/

Networked by Ecological Enterprises, gbarry@forests.org