Jakarta – Environmentalists on Wednesday slammed the Indonesian government for its failure to stop illegal logging at a national park in central Borneo, which has shrunk the local endangered orangutan population.

Telapak Indonesia and the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said illegal logging was continuing unchecked in the Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan province, despite pledges by the government to stop the massive timber thefts.

"If the government cannot stop illegal logging in the Tanjung Puting National Park then it will not be able to deal with any forestry issues," EIA director Dave Currey told a press conference here.

A recent report, based on investigations by the two environmental watchdogs, said the population of orangutans in Tanjung Puting could now be as low as 500 compared to 2,000 in 1994 because their forest homes are being destroyed.

"The massive timber theft is threatening the future of the park and its dwindling orangutan population," Ambrosius Ruwindriyarto, the executive director of Telapak Indonesia, said.

He called Tanjung Puting a test case of Jakarta's willingness to address the issue of rampant illegal logging in Indonesia. "The main culprit is known. The logging is blatant. Firm action is needed now – otherwise there will be little worth saving," Ruwindriyanto said.

Only three protected parks in Indonesia have orangutan populations with long-term viability – Tanjung Puting, Gunung Lauser National Park in northern Sumatra and the Bentuang Karimun Park. The groups said all three were subject to illegal logging. Indonesia has the longest list of endangered species in the world, including orangutans, Sumatran tigers, Sumatran rhinos and Asian elephants.

The report detailed events in Tanjung Puting since the groups' launching of an anti-illegal logging campaign in August, including alledged assaults on EIA and Telapak activists.

The report claims the attacks were carried out by thugs hired by a company owned by local timber baron, Abdul Rasyid, an Indonesian national assembly member. "Despite the evidence there has been no real action by this government against him," Currey said.

Currey also said that President Abdurrahman Wahid had told the environmentalists during a meeting on Tuesday that the president wanted to see an end to illegal logging, and committed his government to the suspension of ramin [a type of tropical hard wood] timber exports.

"If the government holds to the president's promises then, at least we will see some action," Currey said. "We're not going away. We're waiting to see results."

At a meeting of the Consultative Group on Indonesia, the country's main donors, the Indonesian government promised to tackle the illegal logging of national parks as a priority.

"Yet Tanjung Puting and a host of protected areas around the country continue to be looted, often orchestrated by powerful timber barons with collusion of the local authorities," the groups said in a statement.

Currey said illegal logging in Indonesia had now reached a catastrophic level, with 70 percent of timber processed received from illegal sources. He said that at the current rate it was estimated that lowland forest areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan would disappear within a decade.