ILLEGAL LOGGING DECLINES BY 75 PCT - TRUE OR JUST ON PAPER? By Fardah

Jakarta, July 17, 2010 (ANTARA) - London-based Chatham House issued a report on significant decline of illegal logging activities in some developing countries, during a seminar on "Illegal Logging and Related Trade" held at the Royal Society, London, July 15.

According to the report entitled "Illegal Logging and Related Trade: Indicators of the Global Response", total global production of illegal timber has fallen by 22 percent since 2002.

The report described by the Chatham House as the most thorough assessment to date of the global fight against illegal logging, also states that illegal logging has dropped by 50 percent in Cameroon, by between 50 and 75 percent in the Brazilian Amazon, and by 75 percent in Indonesia in the last decade.

This reduction, documented in three of the five tropical timber producers studied, has prevented the degradation of up to 17 million hectares of forest.

"Up to a billion of the world`s poorest people are dependent on forests, and reductions in illegal logging are helping to protect their livelihoods", said Sam Lawson, Chatham House Associate Fellow and lead author of the report.

The new report covers all aspects of the timber trade - a journey that starts in the forests of five "producer" countries studied: Brazil, Indonesia, Cameroon, Malaysia and Ghana.

However, Jakarta-based WALHI (Indonesian Environmental Forum) said data showing a 75-percent decline in illegal logging in Indonesia were only true on paper, while realities in the field indicated illegal logging activities were still going on.

"The government is looking at the situation only from the statistical perspective while illegal logging practices are still going on," Teguh Surya, head of WALHI`s campaign department, said in Jakarta Friday (July 16).

According to Teguh, viewed from the figure, illegal logging activities had indeed decreased because of two things, namely the forest area had gone down after being converted into plantations, and second, the government had a different perspective in seeing illegal logging which has been seen as the only factor destroying the forests.

"Forest destruction practices have been legalized by the government, for instance the conversion of the more than 14,000- hectare Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park in Gorontalo into a gold mining area. Whatever it is called, legally or illegally, it`s still forest destruction," the WALHI campaigner said.

"It can be said that the legalization of forest degradation contradicts the President`s instruction to reduce carbon emission. There has been de-synchronization between the commitment and the realities in the field," he said.

Another local environmental group , Greenomics Indonesia, also criticized a government` representative`s statement that illegal logging in Indonesia had declined by 75 percent.

"Greenomics has strongly criticizes the data, and the forestry ministry has admitted that the data were based only on the number of recorded illegal logging cases," Vanda Mutia Dewi, national coordinator of Greenomics Indonesia, said Friday (July 16).

She said the environmental group did not believe Rachmat Witoelar`s statement saying that illegal logging activities in Indonesia were down 75 percent in the last decade. Witoelar is the government`s special envoy for environmental affairs.

Witoelar gave the statement in an interview with ANTARA correspondent in London Thursday (July 15) on the sidelines of a seminar on "Illegal Logging and Related Trade" at The Royal Society.

This was proof, he said commenting on Chatham House`s report, of the country`s commitment to deal with the impact of climate change , and to reduce gas emission from deforestation and forest degradation.

She said that Rachmat Witoelar should not only refer to illegal logging cases which had been processed in court because there were too many illegal logging activities which had been let free and not brought to court.

Witoelar`s statement could mislead the international public, as the facts in the field showed that illegal logging was still rampant from Aceh to Papua, including in protected forests and national parks, she.

"Rachmat Witoelar should not use the illegal logging reduction target of the forestry ministry because this data is illogical," she said.

Walhi`s Teguh Surya on a separate occasion also commented on Witoelar`s statement, saying that his information was just based on statical data from the forestry ministry and it was merely aimed at spreading good news that the government`s program had been successful. But, it would not solve the problem of forest degradation which is still happening, he added.

Indonesia is one of the first developing nations to have pledged a voluntary CO2 emissions cut by 26 percent by 2020 using funds from its own state budget, and by 41 percent, if developed nations give financial support for the purpose.

The commitment was announced at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh (USA) by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last September 2009.

To follow-up the commitment, Indonesia presented an official seven-page report on its emission reduction target by 26 percent from current levels by 2020 to combat climate change, to the UN last January 31, 2010.

To support the environmental program, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked for the enactment of a law to deal with crimes in the forestry sector to prevent environmental damage and illegal logging.

"I on behalf of the government propose the enactment of a law to act against forestry crimes. If illegal logging is allowed to continue it will continue to give us problems," the head of state said after holding a consultative meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) last July 14, 2010.

Greenpeace, however, last February 2010 said the government has not yet taken real action to fulfill this emission cut commitment so far.

"In 2010 the Indonesian government must show that they are serious about meeting their emission reduction targets by implementing a moratorium on deforestation and peatland clearance," Greenpeace Southeast Asia said on its website.

The international environmental NGO believed that a moratorium on forest and peatland destruction is the most effective way to meet Indonesia`s gas emission reduction targets.

Latest news on an example of continued illegal logging activities came from Central Kalimantan where some 11 percent of the 568,700-hectare Sebangau National Park`s forest area has been damaged.

"The damage was mostly due to illegal logging activities and forest fires," Sumantri, head of the Sebangau National Park, said in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, last Friday (July 16).

Nests, habitats and trees, which are food sources of orangutans and other animals, have lost due to illegal logging activities, he said.

Illegal logging practices must be stopped because food sources of animals living in the national park have been threatened, he said.

The Sebangau National Park needs to be saved because it is one of Indonesia`s largest national parks and has the biggest number of animal species. ***3***

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