This story was originally featured in December 2007, but we are highlighting it again to include project updates, the launch of the REDDI report and other news and resources. Geumpang, Aceh, February 2008- Do you know how much an illegal logger earns for a tree? He makes Rupiah 500,000 ($53) per tree, taking up to a week to cut it manually. How much does an illegal log seller earn in a month? He makes at least IDR 20 million (over $2,146) in a month. That’s a small fortune in a country where the average annual income is $1,410. This is the irony that underwrites the poverty of many places where illegal loggers live in this richly-forested region of Aceh: the loggers remain poverty stricken, the dealers cash in. In Geumpang, Pidie, there are six villages surrounding the pristine Ulu Masen rain forest. About 1,330 households or about 5,548 people live in the area, and at least half of them depend on illegal logging practices for their livelihoods. This is the challenge a World Bank-supported pilot project, the People- Based Forest Management Program, is trying to address. | Geumpang, Aceh, pilots forest management program. |
In Aceh, logging is a traditional occupation which, according to the environment CSO Walhi, accounts every year for a decrease in forest cover of 20,796 hectares. In 2006 however, deforestation hit a high of 374,327 hectares forcing the Aceh Governor, Irwandi Yusuf, a veterinary who is also a committed environmentalist, to announce a total moratorium on logging in Aceh’s forests on 6 June 2007, for a period of 15 years. The Governor, together with the Governor of Papua Barnabas Seubu, signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding, facilitated by the World Bank in Bali earlier this year, to prevent deforestation in their provinces which contain the bulk of Indonesia’s remaining rain forest cover. Says the head of Geumpang sub-district, Muhammad Sabim: “I have asked the villagers not to cut down any more trees. Some of them listen to me because they are afraid of being caught by the police.” The punishment is stiff: up to 15 years in jail and a steep IDR 1.5 billion ($160,000) in fines and a penalty for environmental damage caused by illegal logging of 10 years imprisonment and IDR 500 million ($54,000) in fines. | Banta, 36, used to be an illegal logger...but discovered chocolate. |
Banta, 36, is one of the lucky few who left the family’s logging tradition: “I was an illegal logger,” he confesses, “But after the moratorium, I was able to get a chocolate field.” There are many around him who need to find a substitute now for lost logging incomes. The World Bank–administered US$635m Multidonor Fund for Aceh and Nias (MDF) took up this challenge as part of its efforts to preserve the environment from the demands of reconstruction. The MDF, in partnership with the NGO Flora & Fauna International (FFI) and Leuser International Foundation is implementing the Geumpang project as part of the $17.5 million Aceh Forest and Environment Project to create public awareness of 2.3 million hectares Leuser and Ulu Masen forests, the largest contiguous forest area in Southeast Asia. Those living in and around the forests are also encouraged to know their rights to get optimal use from forest resources. The People-Based Forest Management Program focuses on two main projects: forest and village borders mapping, and commercialization of forest products. The mapping clearly demarcates borders between forests and the six village habitations to help monitor encroachments and create forest zoning. Mahdi Ismail, of FFI says, “We help people to understand that they are not forbidden to utilize the forests, but they must preserve it by not clearing new land and they should plant a tree for every tree they cut.” | Forest Mapping Meeting in Geumpang. |
Geumpang is famous both for its wood and non-wood products such as rattan grasses, honey, etc while the Ulu Masen forest is famous for its rich biodiversity including the Sumatran tiger, elephants, and hundreds of species of birds. Banta who helps FFI run the program as a facilitator said, “We support this program; we now know that we are not forbidden to utilize the forest, as long as we are not damaging it. We also know this is important if we want to have clean water sources in the future.” Illegal logging practices in Aceh have long involved elements of the state’s law enforcement bodies so, “This program involves the people, local governments, the police, Army and an ex-combatant’s organisation in developing businesses using forest products,” says the head of Geumpang Sub-District, Muhammad Nur. The challenge is enormous. According to Greenomics Indonesia and WWF estimates, Aceh needs 814,000 to 1.58 million m3 of round timber per year during the five year reconstruction process. Doing this sustainably is challenging when a legal log is sold at Rp 6-7million ($630-730) per cubic mt, whereas an illegal log is sold for Rp 4-5 ($430-530) million per meter cubic. “We want to help the Acehnese preserve their forest,” said Mikko Ollikainen, Environment Program Specialist, World Bank, Aceh. “Through this MDF-supported program, we are creating awareness of the importance of forests for future generations which should not be forgotten for the short-term needs of reconstruction, however important they are,” he explained. Avoiding Deforestation and Degradation During the second half of 2007, the Indonesian Forest Climate Alliance (IFCA) brought together staff from Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry and more than 40 advisors from Indonesia and around the world to develop a analytical framework for avoided deforestation known as REDD, or Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation . REDD aims to prevent the loss of tropical forests through carbon payment incentives that finance sustainable forest management and greenhouse gas mitigation in developing countries.
The unprecedented effort led to the launch of the REDD strategy for Indonesia (REDDI) at the Climate Change Conference in Bali, and may serve as a model for avoided deforestation going forward. |
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