Tb.Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – The government is defending its much-criticized decision to revive issuing forestry concessions to timber companies in Aceh, saying the plan was vital to support the reconstruction of the tsunami-ravaged province.
"The decision is based on the fact that production forests (in Aceh) have the potential to produce timber to support the reconstruction," Forestry Ministry Malem Sambat Kaban said Thursday, after signing an agreement on forest rehabilitation and conservation with Indonesia's largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama.
The move has drawn strong criticism from environmental groups, which said it would only accelerate the deforestation of the province, where more than 30 percent of forests have been lost from land clearing and illegal logging. They suggested the government seek more timber donations from abroad.
The government has granted concessions to five timber companies and the Forestry Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) over the deal last month.
Based on the ministry's data, Aceh has 3.3 million hectares of forest areas, including more than 638,000 hectares designated as production forests. Thirteen timber companies have already acquired forest concessions in the province, totaling 500,000 cubic meters a year.
However, the long-running conflict in the region, which ended last year, meant most of the concessions were never developed.
Kaban vowed the government would ensure there would be no violations in the use of the concessions. "Aceh timber can only be used for Aceh's reconstruction," he said.
World Wide Fund For Nature Aceh Program coordinator Nana Firman questioned the government's decision, saying the reason behind it was dubious.
"A timber company will need at least one to two years to resume operations and then produce timber. So how can the government say it is helping to rebuild houses in Aceh, which the BRR has said need to be completed by 2007?"
Environmental groups Walhi and Greenomics have also protested the decision. The BRR says it plans to complete the reconstruction of 110,000 houses in Aceh and Nias by 2007, two years before its mandate ends, for some 67,500 people currently living in temporary housing and tents.
Nana suggested the government source more timber from international aid agencies, which have so far sent only about 2,000 cubic meters of wood for Aceh's reconstruction. "These organizations will buy timber from their countries, which would prevent further deforestation here," she said.
Indonesia annually loses around 2.8 million hectares of forests from land clearing and illegal logging, an area the size of Belgium.