Jakarta – A coalition of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) called on the government to cancel auctions for two selective logging concessions in Riau and Jambi, saying the move would endanger protected animals and threaten the livelihood of indigenous peoples.
Eyes on the Forest, a coalition of Riau NGOs, said the auctions of PT SWS's 124,000 hectare concession in Riau and PT IFA's 130,000 hectare concession in Jambi would endanger Sumatran tigers and elephants.
The two logging concessions are planned to supply the pulpwood industry.
The NGO coalition, comprising the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia, the Riau chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and the Working Network of Riau Forest Rescuers (Jikalahari), warned that companies would get licenses within the next few days to convert the forests to industrial timber plantations.
The coalition also expressed support for the campaign by Greenpeace Southeast Asia, which denounced the Forestry Ministry's latest plans to auction off more than 1 million hectares of natural forest throughout Indonesia, including those in Riau and Jambi.
Eyes on the Forest says the auction contradicts the government's latest pledge to restore around two million hectares of natural forest across the country. Deforestation was blamed for causing a series of natural disasters.
"If there is a cheap and easy option to increase forests, by preventing their destruction, why does the government not take it?" Zulfahmi, Jikalahari coordinator, said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Zulfahmi said at least 50 percent of the forests to be converted should be protected, based on the province's Land Use Plan 1994 and conservation criteria for plantation development.
He said the auction of concessions for pulp violate a government regulation stipulating industrial timber estate development should not be granted for natural forest, but should only be granted for barren land, grassland or bushes in production forest.
"The plan to allow the pulp industry to clear-cut these natural forests also totally ignores the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, and will have a negative impact on their economy, society and culture," said Johny Setiawan Mundung, Walhi Riau's executive director.
"This auction is a clear action to encourage deforestation. Forest conversion to artificial monoculture pulpwood tree farms badly impacts the survival of the indigenous people and will spark endless social conflicts," Johny said.
Around 130,000 hectares of natural forests is up for grabs inside Bukit Tigapuluh forest.
Citing a report titled Setting Up Priorities for The Conservation and Recovery of Wild Tigers: 2005-2015, the coalition said the forest is one of only two Global Priority Landscapes for tiger conservation in the country and one of only two remaining key habitats for Sumatra elephants in Central Sumatra.
The livelihoods of thousands of indigenous peoples of Talang Mamak and Malay in Riau as well as Anak Dalam in Jambi entirely depend upon these forests, says the report.
The Bukit Tigapuluh forest is one of the largest forest blocks remaining in Riau with 413,000 hectares of contiguous natural forest.
However, only 149,000 hectares of this forest block are protected as a national park while the other 254,000 hectares are inside the concessions for auction.
The coalition said around 60 to 70 elephants are estimated to live in the soon-to-be-auctioned forests, while at least 100 tigers are believed to live in Bukit Tigapuluh.
The coalition warns that when these forests are converted, a rash of poaching is likely to unfold as tigers are displaced, while human conflict with elephants will dramatically increase.
"Imagine how many severe conflicts will occur in the surrounding villages with the elephants that will lose their habitats," says Nurchalish Fadhli, leader of WWF Indonesia's Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation program in Riau.
"Auctions to allow these forests to be clear-cut by the pulp industry are contradictory to the Forestry Ministry's own decree establishing Riau as an elephant conservation center," he said.