THE POLITICS OF EXTINCTION
Executive Summary  
Introduction  
A Future Without Forests?  
  • Summary
    		•  
  • Indonesia's Forest Cover
    		•  
  • Real Value of the Forests
  • Indonesia's Biodiversity
    		•  
  • Sumatran Rhinoceros
    		•  
  • Sumatran Tiger
    		•  
  • Clouded Leopard
    		•  
  • Primates
    		•  
  • Proboscis Monkey
    		•  
  • Sun Bear
    		•  
  • Protected Forest Areas
    		•  
  • Kutai National Park
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    The Orangutan Crisis  
    The Timber Barons  
    Palm Oil  
    A Future Without Forests? - The Real Value of the Forests


    Indonesian forest policies have been subservient to the demands of rapacious timber and plantation industries. Policies have sought to extend the economic exploitation of forests whilst ignoring their true value as providers of a wide range of invaluable environmental, social and economic services, of which timber is only one element.

    Natural forests are essential in maintaining ecosystems at local, regional and global level. They provide habitat to half of the world's species, regulate climate, protect soils and water systems and provide a sustainable environment for countless millions of people. In Indonesia alone, it is estimated that around 60 million people are dependent upon forests.12

    A recent study found that a hectare of intact tropical forest in Indonesia provides economic services worth up to US$6000 per annum. This figure includes the value of useful plants, insects and animals (used, for example, in medicine). Research has found that over 1200 species of medicinal plants originate from Indonesian tropical forests.13 The figure also tallies the forests' value as a global resource to counter atmospheric warming. In total, the cost of Indonesia's current plans to clear forest is around US$12 billion.14

    A comparison of alternative management strategies in Bintuni Bay, Irian Jaya, found that when account was taken of the value of fish, locally used products and erosion control, the most profitable strategy was to retain the forest - this yielded US$4800 per hectare. Cutting the forest for timber yielded just US$3600 per hectare. Retaining the forests would allow continued use of the area worth US$10 million a year, providing 70% of local income and protecting fisheries worth US$25 million a year.15

    Carbon Sequestration and Climate Regulation
    Forests - and in particular old growth forests - play a vital role in climate regulation through the sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2). Where forests are lost so too is this vital function. Moreover, logging agravates this situation as it releases CO2 through associated burning and decay. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that the tropical forest destruction accounts for around 22.5% of anthropogenic global carbon emmissions (some 1.6 gigatonnes (109) of carbon.19

    Forests also play a key role in local climate regulation, moderating temperature, precipitation, horizontal and vertical air movements and albedo.
    Impacts upon Water Systems, Watersheds and Soil Protection
    Forests play a vital role in purifying and regulating water supply, moderating the impact of storms and floods and creating and maintaining soils. Logging or land conversion leading to the exposure of soil to rainfall creates increased run-off, loss of soil and soil nutrients, landslides, flooding, siltation of rivers, streams or reservoirs and the loss of crops or grazing land.
    Biodiversity and Non Wood Forest Products
    Forests contain between 50-90% of terrestrial species. Tropical forests alone are thought to contain between 10-50 million species - over 50% of species on the planet.20 Forests provide a staggering range of non wood forest products. Some 15 000 species of wild plants and animals are known to be used for foods, medicines and other functions. International trade in non-wood forest products is valued at over US$1 billion annually.21

    Forests provide educational, recreational, aesthetic and cultural benefits.


    Non-wood forest products (NWFP) are a significant source of revenue world-wide. The FAO estimates that over 150 NWFP are traded internationally each year.16 Hundreds of thousands of people in Indonesia have a sustainable livelihood collecting, processing and trading NWFP. Indonesia is a major supplier of products as diverse as gum rosin, rattan, bamboo and essential oils.17 Rattan, for example, is a sustainably produced crop growing naturally in forests and it is widely used in furniture-making. Around 90% of the world's rattan comes from Indonesia and 75% from Kalimantan.18 However, even these non-timber products have not escaped the interest of powerful businesses with connections to the former regime of President Suharto. Thousands of rattan collectors and rattan mat (tatami) producers have suffered, because all rattan produced in Kalimantan had to be sold - for an artificially cheap price - to ASMINDO (the Indonesian Furniture Association). Headed by former President Suharto's close friend Bob Hasan, ASMINDO imposed an export ban for semi-processed rattan products forcing the rattan to be sold exclusively to Bob Hasan and ASMINDO's rattan furniture factories in Java.22

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