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THE FINAL CUT
Illegal Logging in Indonesia's Orangutan Parks |
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Gunung Leuser National Park - Kluet Swamp
A joint team from EIA, Telapak Indonesia and Yayasan Leuser Lestari (YLL) visited the Kluet Swamp area within the Gunung Leuser National Park and the surrounding area formerly under the control of concession holder PT Medan Remaja Timber (PT MRT). They met with villagers, illegal loggers, community leaders, the local governor (bupati) and researchers at the Suaq Balimbing Research Station. While trekking the team saw areas of the National Park devastated by logging, heard chainsaws in most directions, witnessed the felling of trees within the park and learned the location of some of the sawmills receiving the stolen logs. They visited one sawmill owned by Mr Siao - reputed to be the biggest timber baron in the area. Logging teams build their camps within the National Park boundaries and destroy many trees to clear an area and build their structures. The local people are working for a pittance and are forced to take loans for their food and cigarettes while in the forest. This ties them to a particular timber baron who also pays off the local enforcement authorities. The two man logging teams are tied to the local sawmill owners, who are the main force behind the timber theft. The loggers work out of a camp with a number of other teams and are provided with the chainsaw and fuel. The team leader will borrow Rp 150,000 - 200,000 (US$23-30) per week to provide food and cigarettes for him and his assistant. The team leader pays Rp 10,000 (US$1.50) to his assistant per day. They can cut at least one tonne of timber per day (approximately one cubic metre) for which the team leader is paid Rp 60,000 (US$9). If they cut the minimum of seven tonnes each week the team leader will receive Rp 175,000 (US$27) after paying his assistant and repaying the credit to the sawmill owner. Not only is this work illegal, it is gruelling and the workers live and sleep in the forest seven days a week. In their ramshackle temporary shelters the loggers are easy prey to an array of biting and stinging insects, and have to endure leeches and possible snake bites. While the logging team gets just Rp 60,000 for each tonne, the sawmill owner can sell one tonne of timber for Rp350, 000 - 400,000 (US$54-$62). Loggers working in the protected forest explained that the timber they cut all goes to sawmills owned by Mr Siao. He has five sawmills located at Kota Fajar, Pasir Lembang, Bakongan and Paya Laba. In addition to Mr Siao, the loggers claimed that other sawmill owners with loggers in the Park are Mr Ja'i of Paya Laba, Mr Suhaimi from Kandang, Mr Darto from Medan, and Mr Kamal of Pasir Lembang. The Kluet swamp is the site of the unique Suaq Balimbing Research Area. This internationally renowned research site lies within the National Park and has been the home for scientists under Prof. Carel van Schaik since the early 1990s. He fears that the spate of illegal logging will destroy the unique behavioural traits, such as the use of tools, observed in the orangutan population which are known to be critically dependent on the proper environmental conditions. Van Schaik believes the very survival of the orangutans of Suaq Balimbing is threatened. Logging started in the park area soon after the downfall of President Soeharto, but on a relatively small scale. It did not spread into the research station until March 1999. By July it was estimated that about 100 loggers were operating within the study area, based at 24 logging camps and using a system of 20 rails to pull the logs out. Two of the three most important food trees for orangutans in the area have been heavily logged. It is estimated that 50-66% of the Neesia trees and 25-33% of Sandoricum beccarianum have been cut in the study area. The complete failure of the LMU to gain support from the authorities and the community to stop the illegal logging demonstrates the lack of local support for the programme. The current power vacuum has led to a situation where the authorities drop any pretence at even trying to deal with the problem of illegal logging. It is no wonder that the sawmill owners can send the loggers in with impunity. Meetings held between various authorities and the loggers resulted in an ultimatum, which was more a case of bravado than a sense of reality. The loggers were told they could remove their illegally felled timber but must stop their activities. Most ignored the ultimatum and logging continues. |
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