Help fight illegal logging: Indonesia

The Straits Times, May 12, 2007
By Salim Osman, INDONESIA CORRESPONDENT



It wants countries in region to do their bit, in return for ratification of Asean haze pact

JAKARTA - INDONESIA'S Forestry Minister Malem Sambat Kaban has said that countries in the region should commit themselves to helping Jakarta combat the problem of illegal logging in return for the ratification of an Asean haze agreement.

He said Indonesia has been single-handedly tackling the problem of illegal logging in the country and the smuggling of Indonesian logs to neighbouring countries, which he did not name.

'But our neighbours which are involved in the activities have not shown any commitment to help eradicate the problem,' he said in a speech read out in his absence at a workshop at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) yesterday.

Indonesia has been accused of not doing enough to stop the forest fires that have produced thick smog in the region every year for almost a decade.

The Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution was mooted to deal with the problem. It calls for member states to act to prevent and control burning that can pollute neighbouring countries. Signed in June 2002, it has been ratified by all the Asean countries except Indonesia and the Philippines.

The pact was submitted to the Indonesian Parliament early last year, but some factions in the House appear reluctant to ratify the agreement. They want a more all-encompassing deal that covers other environmental issues as well.

Yesterday's workshop on this agreement was jointly organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), the World Wild Fund Indonesia and CSIS.

Mr Kaban, whose speech was read out by his assistant Sutino Wibowo, hinted that the ratification of the anti-haze pact could be used as Jakarta's bargaining chip to extract cooperation from its neighbours in fighting illegal logging.

'We hope that once Indonesia is ready to ratify this agreement, Asean countries would in return be prepared to help Indonesia overcome the problem of illegal logging, especially the distribution of illegal logs from Indonesia in their countries,' he said.

Environmentalists say illegal logging strips Indonesia of 2.1 million ha of forest every year in a trade worth US$4 billion (S$6 billion).

A report last month by the Environmental Investigation Agency and Indonesia-based Telapak said that Malaysia and China were major recipients of stolen Indonesian timber ferried overseas by shipping firms from Singapore.

Mr Kaban said, however, that if Indonesia was still not ready to ratify the agreement, steps should be taken to reduce the incidence of smoke pollution from fires, by setting a target of bringing down the number of hot spots.

Indonesian officials from Riau and Jambi provinces who were at the workshop said Indonesia was committed to ratifying the agreement and would persuade the legislators to pass it.

SIIA chairman Simon Tay said he felt assured that Jakarta was serious about tackling the haze problem and ratifying the pact. 'But why don't members of the DPR (Indonesian Parliament) feel the same way?' he asked.

He questioned why Indonesia had yet to sign the pact if it was already fulfilling the stipulated obligations, and added that it would benefit from better coordination and better funding.