It seems that community forestry programmes in Indonesia are becoming a victim of their own success. Illegal loggers in Lampung not satisfied with their territory in the Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas national parks are now targeting reforestation areas managed under community forestry programmes.
West Lampung Forestry Office head Fauzi said large volumes of illegally logged timber had been found recently to have originated from forested areas run by local communities.
“This finding means the logging has also taken place in community forests where local people put in a lot of hard work,” he said.
The forest programme in West Lampung was regarded as the country’s second most successful after Yogyakarta’s. The programme served as an example for others to see measure against when creating the ideal forest rehabilitation project. Now coming into its tenth year 6,537 farming families living around protected and production forests in West Lampung have been involved in the community forest programme.
Besides being a key source of livelihood for farmers the protected forest spanning 12,000 hectares in Register 45 in Bukit Rigis and Register 34 in Tangkit Tebak has been turned into dense forests. Previously this land was stripped bare by conversion and illegal logging.
For those wishing to participate in the community forest programme the local forestry office provides a five year permit to residents in order to manage critical areas in production and protected areas. The condition to receiving this permit is that they form groups and carry out forest conservation. The groups must also have a management system in place and a good set of organisational rules.
”Bukit Rigis is included in West and North Lampung regencies,” Fauzi said. “The Bukit Rigis forest in West Lampung has been kept safe for the past 10 years because residents around the forest monitor it closely and arrest all illegal loggers.”
Jamaludin, a coffee farmer whose land borders the Bukit Rigis forested area said that he often sees illegal loggers at work in the forest.
”I recognize them, but I’m afraid to stop them because they carry sharp weapons,” he said. “I’ve told the authorities about it repeatedly, but they only followed up last week in a raid led by the Way Tenong district chief.”
For the past decade Jamaludin has been on the lookout for illegal loggers.
“I report them to the Way Tenong district chief because I don’t want to be accused of being an illegal logger myself,” Jamaludin said. “I also want to join the community forest program so I can get involved in managing the forest. I’ll register for it at the West Lampung Forestry Office this year.”
So far police have questioned 11 residents of Fajar Bulan as witnesses in the illegal logging case where dozens of trees were felled. A mere 1.5 cubic metres of timber was left behind by illegal loggers who made off with the bulk. With only a few kilometres between the forest and the main road it makes it easy for the illegal loggers to get to and transport the timber.
Satori M. Baki secretary of the Indonesian Crisis Centre at West Lampung blames the widespread illegal logging on negligent law enforcement. He said that when illegal loggers in Lampung are arrested most are released due to insufficient evidence.
”At the end of December last year, the Kotaagung District Court in Tanggamus regency released an illegal logging suspect,” he said. “Some are punished, but they only get light sentences because they’re charged with theft, and that doesn’t serve as a deterrent. “They should face the more severe charges as stipulated in the forestry law,” he added.
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April 14th, 2010 at 7:41 AM
Excellent John! Uncontrolled illegal logging could harm.Deforestation is mainly a consequence of bush fires and the illegal logging of trees.