The Rumble in the Jungle

TEMPO / Indonesia Media

TWO high-ranking state officials are squabbling publicly over the issue of operations to eradicate illegal logging. Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban insists that National Police Chief Sutanto reevaluate the performance of the North Sumatra, Riau and Papua regional chiefs of police. Kaban has accused them of conducting operations against illegal loggers in a haphazard fashion, saying that not only was there a lack of coordination, but they encroached upon the authority of the Forestry Department.

All three police chiefs however have rejected Kaban’s claims and are sticking to their guns saying that they are determined to eradicate illegal logging even if it costs them their jobs. It is already common knowledge, however, that on the ground, the problem is a tangled and complicated web. Police officers and forestry officials collude and conspire in order to benefit from money derived from illegal logging practices.

Gone in 10 Seconds

INDONESIA is losing 27,000 square kilometers of forest annually, approximately 40 times the size of Jakarta, on account of illegal logging. This is equivalent to the size of a soccer field every 10 seconds. Illegal logging is costing the state as much as Rp45 trillion per year and is occurring as a result of collusion between the perpetrators and the authorities. What is the modus operandi?

1. Forest Concessions: The Forestry Minister or regional government heads issue Forestry Concession Licenses (HPH).
Modus: Licenses are given to incompetent parties. Other investors then exploit the license holders.

2. Logging: Trees are harvested in accordance with the HPH. The amount of timber taken is reported to the local Forestry Office in the form of a Production Yield Report (LHP).
Modus: HPH holders harvest timber outside of the licensed area.

3. Audits: A team from the Forestry Office examines whether the LHP conforms to the HPH. The audit covers the origin, species and amount of timber.
Modus: Logging companies and forestry officials collude so that no violation appears to have taken place.

4. Payment of Reforestation Funds: Logging companies that pass the audit pay a Reforestation Fund contribution and a Forest Resource Rent Provision (PSDH) to the local Regional Revenue Office.

5. Forest Products Validation Certificate: Timber company owners apply for a Forest Products Validation Certificate (SKSHH) from the Forestry Department by providing evidence of the payment of the reforestation fund and provisions. This document contains information on the timber company owners, the mode of transportation, the location for the loading and unloading of timber and the species and volume of timber.
Modus: Timber companies photocopy old documents and replace the information contained in them or the company obtains a blank SKSHH from certain individuals in the Forestry Office and fill them out as they wish.

6. Police Checks: Police still have an opportunity to stop these crimes by comparing the SKSHH against the timber actually being transported by the company. Based on the Forestry Law, police have the authority to examine timber as well as the owner of the SKSHH if they are suspected of harvesting timber illegally.
Modus: Timber companies and police collude to allow timber through with invalid documents.

7. The Result...
Of the 1,138 million square kilometers of forest in Indonesia, 226,000 square kilometers have been seriously damaged or destroyed. The total volume of illegal timber recovered is far less than the amount that slips through the legal net. These are the figures:

Illegal Timber, Timber Seized
(in cubic meters)

Abdul Manan. Sources: Research, reports by Walhi and the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL)

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