Industrial Timber Estates
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For millions of local people in Indonesia, development of
industrial timber estates is synonymous with the development of many
problems. Recognized or not, it is as if the development of
industrial timber estates legitimizes the destruction of natural
forests and infringements of Government regulations on zoning
criteria for Logging Permit (IUPHHKHT) or Industrial Timber Estate
areas, namely, not in natural forests but on vacant land, grasslands
or scrublands in production forests (Government Regulation 34/2002,
article 30 passage 3), or in non-forest vegetative cover or
previously cleared areas in damaged conditions with potential log
diameters of 10cm for all timber types and volume of no more than 5
m3 per hectare (Decree of the Ministry of Forestry
10.1/2000, article3). Similarly, the same criteria were emphasized
by Decree of the Ministry of Forestry 21/2001, point (b); Decree of
the Ministry of Forestry 33/2003, article 5 passage (2) letter (c);
Decree of the Ministry of Forestry 32/2003, article 4 passage (2)
letter (a); and Decree of the Ministry of Forestry 05/2004, article
5 passage (1). |
A large portion of industrial timber estates
are established using reforestation funds from the logging of
natural forests, which should be used to ensure the conservation of
natural forests in the interests of the community in the future. And
so, the development of industrial timber estates is based on the
legitimization of the violation of the people’s rights, through the
release of productive lands owned by local communities for
transformation into commercial timber plantations. The concept of
industrial timber estate development began with a seminar in 1984
that discussed the “Timber Estate”. The seminar recommended a
program for rehabilitation of critical and unproductive forest
lands. Subsequently, various research and trials were held in
centers on critical land, such as in Benakat and Sumberjeriji (South
Sumatra), Padang Lawasa (North Sumatra) and Riam Kanan (South
Kalimantan) .
Over time, the concept shifted to one in which
industrial timber estates were used primarily to supply the balance
of timber materials for industry. Initially, the realization of this
idea was achieved through State-Owned Enterprise (BUMN), and
thereafter through Government Regulation No. 7/1990 on Industrial
Timber Plantation Rights (HPHTI), which incorporated private sector
into industrial timber estate enterprise units .
Although
the objective of developing timber plantations is to provide timber
in sufficient quantities in as short a time as possible, it is
always claimed that timber plantation developments aim to improve
the community’s standard of living. The propaganda declares that the
profits from timber plantation developments benefit local
communities. Even on a national scale, it is said that the economic
and social future of the country depends on timber plantations to
provide raw material for paper. It is promised that timber
plantations will increase employment opportunities and increase the
exports essential for national development .
However, in
subsequent developments, as in other land-based industries in
Indonesia, industrial timber estates have created tension and
economic, social and cultural problems, the majority of which remain
unresolved until now. The natural forests provide the water, food
and plants needed by communities. Once the natural forests are lost
and replaced with timber plantations, all of these necessities are
also lost and cannot be replaced.
Development of industrial
timber estates also often creates horizontal conflict within
communities. These conflicts occur between those who reject the
presence of timber plantation companies and those who accept them.
The companies, with Government sponsorship, then worsen the division
between the two groups by calling the pro-development group
”progressive” and those who reject them ”backward”. ’Money politics’
has long been applied to deal with people who may potentially
’disrupt’ operations. Money is given to the village leaders and
customary heads so that communities are receptive to projects to
develop timber plantations and to facilitate manipulation so that
forest lands are surrendered for the timber plantation development
.
One economic problem that arises from the development of
industrial timber estates is the concentration of wealth. The timber
plantation industry commands vast tracts of land, and requires
long-term support and investment that is shouldered onto Government.
In many cases, companies require direct subsidies, tax concessions,
soft loans from creditors, forestry research, construction of roads,
improvements in other infrastructure and other subsidies obtained
wholly from the people. In other words, support for timber
plantation developments – that are given by Government – ultimately
come from the people for the benefit of a handful of timber
plantation owners. This concentration of wealth has implications for
concentration of power that can override local community ownership.
Development of large-scale timber plantations certainly drives the
macro economy, but at the same time ruins local economic patterns
and nature conservation.
Industrial timber estates
purportedly aim to replace damaged forests as purveyors of timber
for the forestry industry; however industrial timber estate schemes
are in fact used as a means for obtaining timber from the natural
forests. Many industries (especially pulp) apply for industrial
timber estate developments but do not do any planting. It is
apparent that various incentives and facilitation given to
businessmen to establish industrial timber estates as quickly as
possible are abused.
Development of the downstream sector
without concurrent development of industrial timber estates has
clearly benefited businessmen, with ongoing consumption of logs from
natural forests in both the industrial timber estate concessions
that they own as well as from external sources.
The pulp
industry is Indonesia’s biggest consumer of timber. It was initially
established in Leces and Padalarang in Java and in North Sumatra. In
1997 – 1998, the Government provided 1 trillion in low-interest
reforestation funds to the Barito group and Bob
Hasan.
Although development of industrial timber estates for
both the pulp industry and other trades is in fixed production
forest zones and in forests in critical condition, it is common
knowledge that many pulpwood plantation companies obtain concessions
in zones that still have quite good timber potential. Moreover, the
pulp-paper industry continues to source supplies from natural
forests, as the rate of industrial timber estate growth remains
low.
In 2003, the Department of Forestry itself stated
that, on average, the pulp-paper industry had experienced a shortage
in raw materials of about two million cubic meters per year.
Meanwhile, supplies from industrial timber estates, both from its
group as well as supplies from outside its group, only provided
about 25 percent . This means that more than half of supplies come
from outside pulpwood plantations in one group, and probably from
natural forest conversion.
Up until 2006, the figures for
this shortage have gotten no smaller, and have in fact increased.
The main reason is that production capacity has been increased
without any prior analysis of the availability of raw materials. In
2006 – 2007, the national pulp industry required 27.708 million
cubic meters of timber. About 33 percent of timber for the pulp
industry is obtained from outside industrial timber estates
.
In one of his interviews with a local paper, the Minister
for Forestry during the Megawati era, M. Prakosa, stated that many
pulp and paper factories accepted illegal timber for their raw
materials.
“Many pulp and paper industries use raw
materials from outside industrial timber estates, taking from
natural forests or even accepting illegal timber. The industries are
very greedy for raw materials, to the point that this can become a
factor in forest destruction. Pulp and paper industries would not
suffer raw materials shortages if they carried out planting in
industrial timber estates according to a schedule based on the needs
of the industries that they manage.”
It is
a fact in the field that pulp industrial timber estate managers
benefit more from exploiting timber from natural forests converted
to industrial timber estates, but planting is neglected. Of seven
pulp industries in Indonesia, only one established its industrial
timber estate concession prior to its plant. The other six built
first, without preparation of industrial timber estates, which were
established for the most part in 1995. This ensured the massive
legalized destruction of Indonesia’s natural forests by the pulp
industry sector over 25 years.
“We were in no hurry to
establish acacia orchards while there were still supplies of cheap
mixed timber. Why must we replace them with acacias? We have access
to cheap raw materials. Establishing an acacia plantation would not
only be very costly but also full of risks. The acacia plantation we
are currently establishing hasn’t changed the insurance policy. We
will cash in when the timber materials from the natural forests are
no longer available.”
More Complete, Click Industrial
Timber Estates.pdf
(http://www.eng.walhi.or.id/)
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