Illegal logging: Indonesia's forest folk speak out
7 April 2008
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Indonesia country profile |
Millennium Development Goal 7:
Environment
 “The forest, the trees - we think of them as our mother. It really breaks our
heart watching the trees felled by outsiders.” These were the words of Frederick
Sagisolo, the leader of the Knasaimos tribe from West Papua, Indonesia, as he
stood before the European Parliament to explain how illegal logging had affected
his people.
Thousands of rural communities in Indonesia depend on forests for their
livelihoods. But rampant illegal logging, and the international trade in stolen
timber, are robbing these communities of their most precious resources.
Giving civil society a voice
Frederick travelled to Brussels as part of a DFID-funded project to increase
understanding between the key groups with an interest in stopping this crime. In
the past, there was little dialogue between Indonesia's Government, the European
Union and Indonesian
civil society - meaning that the concerns of poor people
were rarely heard.
“My trip to Europe really opened my eyes," says Frederick. "It showed how
differently government treats civil society. In
Europe, they work together, while Indonesian governments often regard civil
society as the enemy.”
As well as sending delegates to address the Parliament in Europe, the project also set up workshops throughout Indonesia.
These were designed to encourage conversation, and break down
mistrust, between civil society and government. Voices that previously were ignored
were given a platform, and channels for policy suggestions were opened up.
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Untangling a complicated web
The problem of illegal logging in Indonesia is a large and complicated web of
weak governance, criminal networks, social disintegration and violence. And
tackling the illegal timber trade has been made more difficult by the corruption
that is deeply embedded within the country's economic, cultural and political
structures.
In Frederick's village, for example, gangs seeking the valuable merbau tree have the backing of the military police. So, not only are the locals
impoverished by the logging, but they're powerless to do anything about it.
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Making governments listen
 To stamp out illegal logging, it is vital that the Government
gives civil society a say in the decision-making process. That's why the DFID
project developed a network of civil society players, covering the country's
major provinces.
This network helped inform the Government's position on an
important EU initiative, the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT),
which hopes to
ensure that only legally verified Indonesian timber is allowed into EU markets.
Having listened to the consultations with the civil society network, the
Government will take up some of its suggestions as it negotiates on FLEGT.
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Learning into the future
If the voices and concerns of civil society are to go on being heard, the
network set up by the project needs to be maintained. Encouragingly, those who
attended workshops and took part in the network are confident they are better
equipped to make decisions based on their own experiences. They also feel they have
the courage to face new challenges.
As Frederick explains: "Now, almost all the people in the village are aware of
the problem of illegal logging and vow not to be involved in it. But I must find
ways to build the capacity of our people to be able to manage our resources for
our benefit - to get rid of poverty while still protecting our forests."
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Key facts
- DFID provided the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak with £384,000 through the
Civil Society Challenge Fund over a period of three years (2004-2007) to
implement the project.
- During the project, delegations from Indonesian civil society
visited the EU on four occasions, and held meetings in Belgium, the UK,
Germany, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands.
- The EIA initiative was a follow on from the Multi-Stakeholder
Forestry Programme (MFP), to which DFID committed £25 million between
2001 and 2006. MFP supported the first and second phase of EIA's work in
Indonesia.
- Around 70-80% of Indonesia's timber is extracted illegally, and the annual loss
to the state from the crime is estimated to be between $600 million to $3
billion.
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