The Many Faces of Illegal Logging in Kalimantan

Jakarta Globe 27 May 13;

A man running a business on a main road in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, was recently slapped with a fine after destroying a tree that he considered a nuisance to his business.

“He watered the tree with something that eventually killed it. We at the Sanitation, Park and Cemetery Office [DKPP] subsequently sued him. He was punished and had to pay us back the losses,” Sudirman Djajaleksana, head of public relations for the Balikpapan government, said on Sunday.

The city administration governs unlicensed logging under a 2010 regulation that imposes a punishment of up to three months in prison and a fine of up to Rp 15 million ($1,530) for cutting down or killing trees planted by the DKPP.

Sudirman said the man was not jailed, but “he paid Rp 5 million for the loss and planted a new tree. … We hope that will have enough of a deterrent effect.”

“The tree [he killed] is located pretty far from his business. The DKPP had placed it there for a reason,” Sudirman said.

The case is one of many that demonstrate how the existence of natural resources in Kalimantan is being undermined by human activities.

Illegal logging has long been an issue in Kalimantan, an island that hosts a vast area of forests and has a variety of wildlife, with some nearing extinction.

Last week, about two hectares of mangroves were found to have been cleared near the Graha Indah Kariangau housing compound in North Balikpapan, allegedly for the construction of housing.

Agus Bei, chair of the Graha Kariangau Mangrove Center, said he found six people cutting down trees in the area on Wednesday. An estimated 20,000 tree trunks were found cut within the area, despite being notionally protected by the city administration. “We caught six people using chainsaws. They admitted to working for a housing company. I immediately told them to stop,” Agus said.

A major illegal logging operation was discovered while Agus and other residents patrolled the area by boat.

Agus said one night he noticed some differences in a local area. “We noticed the eastern part of the river looked brighter than usual and the area was quieter than normal, when there are birds or other animals. We approached the location and found a large area of trees cut down,” he said.

The mangrove center is estimated to cover 12 hectares and is connected to the Somber River and Balikpapan Bay.

As well as being used for conservation, the plantation is also a tourism destination for local and foreign visitors.

In a separate case, a report by forest rangers last month revealed that two-fifths of the combined area of two nature reserves in East Kalimantan’s Paser district has been degraded as a result of the increased human presence.

Darmanto, the chief ranger with the Balikpapan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), said the 53,800 hectare Teluk Adang and the 46,900 hectare Teluk Apar reserves, both home to ecologically important mangrove swamps, were slowly being taken over by people building villages, and fish and shrimp farms.

“They’ve even built schools and clinics inside the reserves, which is prohibited, and this has left up to 40 percent of the area badly degraded,” Darmanto said.

Kalimantan is home to massive swathes of forest, which are considered by many experts to be crucial to the battle against climate change. But efforts to protect the greenery has been hampered by enforcement difficulties.

While Indonesia has signed an agreement with Norway to protect significant stretches of forest in exchange for cash payments, halting the activities of illegal loggers, many of whom are richly rewarded given global demand for wood and paper products, has proven difficult.

Policies of decentralization have vested power with provincial and local administrations.