Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) in Aceh deplored the recent decision of the Forestry Ministry to grant forest utilization licenses to five companies in the province.

Walhi's executive director in Aceh, Cut Hindon, said Wednesday the reason for granting the licenses, which were given to allow the companies to supply timber for reconstruction work, made no sense and could destroy the province's forests.

For the post-tsunami reconstruction work, Aceh reportedly needs 200,000 cubic meters of timber. "Demand for timber in Aceh should not pose a risk (to the forest). The demand for timber could actually be met without destroying the forest," Cut said.

She also criticized the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency for Aceh and Nias (BRR) and the provincial administration for allowing the licenses to be issued. "They could actually use confiscated timber or timber from grants," Cut said.

Walhi said that based on the Forestry Ministry data, there were some 71,000 cubic meters of confiscated timber. The figure excluded timber confiscated in the province.

In Aceh alone, Walhi recorded more than 33,000 cubic meters of timber that was confiscated by the police during the 2005 illegal logging crackdown across Aceh. She said if all the confiscated timber was used for reconstruction projects, it would means there would only be a shortage of 50,000 cubic meters. "The shortage can be taken from timber received from grants or donated for Aceh," Cut said.

She urged the central government to evaluate the move to issue forest utilization licenses in Aceh considering the impact on people living in forested areas and along the riverbanks.

Walhi's data shows that 46.40 percent or 714,724 hectares of riverbank areas, from a total of over 1.5 million hectares in the province, had been damaged, with the more serious degradation found in the eastern coastal area of Aceh.