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indonesia's forests imperiled

new export ban addresses symptoms, not causes

farah sofa, foe indonesia

Indonesia's forests, along with those in nations like Brazil and Zaire, were once part of an enormously biodiverse band crossing the earth. Spanning two different geographical zones, this greenbelt was home to many of the world's plant and animal species.

development equaled destruction
Unfortunately, during the last 30 years, proper management and wise use of forests were not practiced. Instead, the development paradigm called for economic growth through resource exploitation, including logging.

The major threats to forest conservation include large-scale plantations, logging, mining and resettlement. As forests become degraded and fragmented, so does biodiversity. Indonesia's forests and its biodiversity are vanishing at a very alarming rate.

logging main culprit
The prime cause of Indonesian forest destruction is commercial logging. Inefficient timber extraction has caused unnecessary damage to remaining trees, resulted in excessive waste wood being left behind in the forest, and led to soil erosion and river pollution. Timber has been the prime mover in Indonesia's economy for three decade. However, commercial logging also brings many problems, the most serious of which are forest destruction and social problems.

1985 log export ban
The severe negative impact of logging activities led to a government ban on log export in 1985 and the encouragement of “value added” wood product exports, including sawn wood, plywood and pulp. But after the 1998 financial crisis, the government signed a Letter of Intent with the International Monetary Fund that required it to resume log exports. As a result, forest exploitation increased significantly to meet the demand for timber, mostly from foreign markets and wood-based industries. Illegal logging activities also increased in many places, threatening natural forests and conservation areas.

one law: sustainability
Illegal logging is usually defined as a logging operation that lacks official permission or legal documents. But in the above context, all forest operations, whether legally documented or not, are problematic. In fact, in the context of sustainability, nearly all current Indonesian logging operations are "illegal" because they sustain an industry that is the biggest contributor to natural forest destruction and rampant illegal logging. Indonesia's forest management is clearly unsustainable, destructive and out of control.

2001 log export ban
In October 2001, the national government banned log exports from Indonesia for six months. It took this action in order to combat illegal logging practices and prevent further losses from log smuggling. Smuggling has resulted in a loss of US$1.4 billion in Indonesia's foreign earnings. The question remains: will this ban stop illegal logging practices and save Indonesia's frontier forests?

The mostly likely answer is “no”, because the log export moratorium was enacted under false assumptions. Firstly, it is doubtful that illegal logging practices will decrease significantly, because national and international demand for timber is still high. This means that the economic incentive for illegal logging remains. Buyers do not distinguish between illegal and legal timber because the logs are usually “laundered” before being sold on the market. As long as supply is sufficient, buyers generally do not care whether the timber they purchase is legal or illegal.

Secondly, it is suspected that the incentive for the export log ban was a result of lobbying by wood-based companies, which have complained that legal and illegal domestic log exports to countries like Malaysia and Singapore have forced them to import more expensive wood. If this is the case, it is not an incentive for the government to strive to halt illegal logging.

Thirdly, the government's export log ban was a very reactive and fragmented strategy to address a single problem: the reduction of foreign earning losses from illegal logging and smuggling. The government has never addressed the underlying causes of illegal logging. Thus, the moratorium's effectiveness in saving Indonesia's remaining forests will not be significant.

systemic problems
The only way to stop illegal logging is to examine its causes from a holistic perspective. These include the over-capacity of the wood industry , the low value of forest resources, the lack of forest property rights for local communities, and the wood extractive concession system. Combating illegal logging by conducting raids will only waste public funds.

Of course weak law enforcement and high levels of corruption and collusion on the ground will also hinder efforts to eradicate illegal logging. Corrupt industry officials issue legal documents to launder stolen logs, as well as export papers that open the way for smugglers to ship logs to Malaysia or China.

logging moratorium for timber tracking
Efforts to curb illegal logging will only be effective if a timber-tracking system is established. In the meantime, rationalizing industrial capacity to a sustainable level of 20 million cubic metres of wood annually is a must. Until timber operations and the wood trade are reformed, it will be almost impossible to rid Indonesia of illegal logging.

A full logging moratorium, like those in effect in other countries in the region, is a prerequisite for the government to track illegal logs. A moratorium would mean that not a single log would come out of the forest, and would thus complicate the legalization of stolen timber.

At the same time, the forestry industry should be supported in its wood imports, and the government should cease log exports. Domestic and global wood prices would thus correct themselves -- an additional benefit of a logging moratorium.

A logging moratorium would also help the government to implement the genuine forestry sector reforms that are needed to overcome problems such as forest fires, the restructuring of debt-ridden industries, forest land use, forest resources valuation, national forestry programming and indigenous community land tenure problems.

the moratorium process
A logging moratorium is not a goal in itself, but a learning process. It would bring distinct gains and the potential for the country to implement the reforms committed to by the government. A logging moratorium could be implemented over a two or three year period via several steps including a halt to new licenses, forest monitoring, securing the most threatened areas, logging bans in last frontier forests, and the addressing of social issues.

Even if all the necessary steps are conducted, there is no assurance that Indonesia can escape from the looming destruction of its forests. We do believe that a logging moratorium is the best remedy, and can only hope that the people of Indonesia will not have to learn to live without their natural forests or adjust to depleted biodiversity. Only time will tell.