22/07/2016, 8:19 AMGovt plan to lift ban on log exports questioned - The Jakarta Post

Page 1 of 4http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/12/16/govt-plan-lift-ban-log-exports-questioned.html

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Govt plan to lift ban on log exports

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After a decade-long fight against illegal logging, the idea of resuming log

exports is heating up following a recent proposal by the Forestry Ministry.

Under the proposal, logs sourced from productive forests, either communityplantation forests (HTR) or industrial forest concessions (HTI), by firmsholding certificates under the timber legality verification system (SVLK) can beshipped overseas.

'The exports will be limited to companies fulfilling the certificationrequirement, thereby it will not happen on a massive scale,' ForestryMinistry' s secretary-general Hadi Daryanto told The Jakarta Post.

No quota would be imposed and the log trading would be mainly driven bymarket demand, he added.

The proposal came up as a follow up to a demand from the Association ofIndonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI) for better prices and wider marketaccess. Domestic sales alone have so far led to lower prices and in turn, haveresulted in weakening the upstream industry. At present, logs taken from localindustrial forests only sell for US$30 per cubic meter, almost one-third lessthan the regional price of $80 per cubic meter, the industry group has claimed.

Indonesia, the world' s largest log exporter since the 1970s, has had its ups anddowns in its fight to combat illegal logging. Home to the world's third-biggesttropical rain forest after the Amazon and Congo basins, it has been a center ofattention of global environmental groups due to rampant illegal logging thathas caused not only expansive deforestation, but also losses in biodiversity and

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22/07/2016, 8:19 AMGovt plan to lift ban on log exports questioned - The Jakarta Post

Page 2 of 4http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/12/16/govt-plan-lift-ban-log-exports-questioned.html

harmful smog caused by the burning of vegetation.

Massive exports of logs occurred between 1998 and 2001 when Indonesiasubstantially reduced export taxes on logs from 200 percent to 10 percent. Therelaxation of log exports, which was part of a deal with the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) to reform its ailing economy for a sizeable bailoutpackage, encouraged loggers to ship their logs overseas to obtain hardcurrency, while the weak regulations resulted excessive illegal logging.

Over the past decade, the country has been struggling to address this concern.At the end of 2001, the country banned all log exports and later in 2003, itintroduced the SVLK certification to ensure the legality of traded timber,which became mandatory in 2010. Environmental activists maintain thatresuming the log exports will provide a way for uncontrollable illegal loggingto resume, a view shared by a downstream industry group.

'This is one step back. While in the past the government has halted log exportsto avert environmental damage, it now wants to bring added value anddevelop the downstream industry,' said Soewarni, the chairwoman of theIndonesian Sawmill and Wood Working Association (ISWA).

'If we resume the exports, who will be able to guarantee an end to illegal logexports?' she questioned, citing poor supervision and legal enforcementdespite the planned limited exit gates for log exports. The legal shipments aswell as potential smuggling of logs can be a threat to the domestic processingindustry as they will cut the available local supply, according to Soewarni.

Despite its seemingly hard efforts to reform its forestry policies, which thegovernment touts as a model for sustainable 'green growth', corruption andmismanagement are still plaguing Indonesia's forestry sector with seriousimpacts on human rights and the environment.

Illegal logging and forest-sector mismanagement caused $7 billion in losses ofstate revenue from 2007 to 2011, according to a report recently released by theHuman Rights Watch. The ongoing debate on the possibility of resuming logexports probably still has a long way to go before a compromise can bereached.

'' JP/Linda Yulisman JP/Linda Yulisman

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22/07/2016, 8:19 AMGovt plan to lift ban on log exports questioned - The Jakarta Post

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22/07/2016, 8:19 AMGovt plan to lift ban on log exports questioned - The Jakarta Post

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