Fidelis E. Satriastanti – When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono decided in 2005 to issue a direct instruction that would curb illegal logging, it was hoped that a directive coming straight from the nation's leader would finally get the job done.

Four years later, however, the fight against illegal logging has made minimal strides, one environmentalist says.

Yudhoyono's instruction called for all law enforcement agencies to have an integrated program that would contain illegal logging activities. But Mas Achmad Santosa, an environment law expert, said the president's instruction at the time was too vague and needed to be re-evaluated.

"Illegal logging is an extraordinary case but this was not implied in the instruction, as a result there was never a significant progress in the fight against it," Santosa said.

Law enforcers haven't been able to maximize their authority to detect where illegal logging activities are occurring, respond to them if they are identified and prosecute those found guilty, Santosa added.

Most of those who have been punished were small-time loggers as the bigger names have evaded punishment.

An assessment of the directive was due to determine its effectiveness, Santosa said, but it never materialized. Whether the president is determined to reassess his instruction remains to be seen, Santosa added.

Ari Jono, the chief investigator for the special crimes unit of the National Police, said arresting illegal loggers posed a challenge because they have started producing documents that would "legalize" their activities. In some cases, Ari said, police themselves were involved in illegal logging.

"We are now shifting our targets to include major players. We're not just looking for small-time crooks anymore," Ari claimed.