Jakarta, Jan 27 (Antara) - By promoting the trade of certified timber
through its timber legality verification system (SVLK) and the use of
raw materials from plantation forests or timber estates, Indonesia hopes
to become an ASEAN timber production base.
In addition, Indonesia is also determined to regain its share of the
timber market in Europe, since it has the opportunity to become the
first country to export timber products with the "Forest Law Enforcement
Governance and Trade" (FLEGT) certification.
"We have a comparative advantage in the timber industry. Therefore, it
is possible for Indonesia to become a production base," Chief Economic
Minister Hatta Rajasa said when inspecting the facilities of a timber
estate company, PT Pundi Uniwood Industry, along with Forestry Minister
Zulkifli Hasan in the Serang district, Banten, last week.
The Indonesian government hopes to encourage the development of the
timber industry through the partnership model. That is expected to help
Indonesia's timber industry face competition from the ASEAN Economic
Community next year.
Besides having an advantage in the ASEAN region, according to Colin
Crooks, the deputy ambassador of the European Union for Brunei
Darussalam and ASEAN, Indonesia has the opportunity to become the first
country to export FLEGT-licensed timber products to Europe.
"Indonesia will be able to enjoy large profits in the global markets,
especially in the European Union, and in other countries, such as
Australia, which have adopted the FLEGT standard," Crooks said in
Jepara, Central Java, last week.
Indonesia is currently shifting away from using raw materials from
natural forests to using raw materials from industrial plantation
forests or timber estates. That represents a shift in the sources of raw
materials for Indonesia's timber industry.
Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said Indonesia has entered the era of a
plantation forest-based timber industry. He pointed out that in the
past eight years (2005-2013), the use of raw materials from natural
forests by the timber industry has declined from 20.5 million cubic
meters in 2005 to 5.54 cubic meters by 2013.
On the other hand, the use of raw materials from plantation forests has
been increasing, from 11.2 million cubic meters in 2005 to 39.80
million cubic meters in 2013. "Going forward, our timber estates will
become the backbone of the national timber industry," Minister Hasan
observed.
Along with the shift in the sources of raw materials, the number of
timber companies also continues to increase, according to Minister
Hasan.
By 2013, the number of primary timber companies with a production
capacity of over 6 thousand cubic meters per annum had increased to 375.
They employed 282,878 workers and had a total investment of Rp54.9
trillion.
The Forestry Minister's expert staff for industrial revitalization
affairs, Bedjo Santoso, noted that in 2013, timber companies used 41.8
million cubic meters of wood, of which 33.1 million cubic meters (79.1
percent) came from timber estates. About 4.48 million cubic meters (10.7
percent) came from production forest concessions (HPH), while 3.45
cubic meters (8.47 percent) came from smallholders' forests.
Santoso pointed out that only 685,388 cubic meters of raw materials
were taken from forests cultivated under the Timber Exploitation Permits
(IPK) scheme.
"The plantation forests, including timber estates and the smallholders'
forests, form the main pillars of the Indonesian timber industry
currently," he added.
Santoso argued that it was wrong for other parties to claim that the
timber companies in Indonesia continue to depend on natural forests for
their raw materials. "If Greenpeace, for example, claims that our
industries are using natural forest timber in large quantities, the
statement is obviously wrong," he noted.
One of the country's biggest timber product industries is the pulp
industry, which, in 2013, produced 5.4 million tons, using 21-22 million
cubic meters of raw materials. "Data shows that the need for raw
materials can be completely met by the country's timber estates. If
Greenpeace claims that our industries still depend on natural forests,
it shows that their own data are already outdated," Santoso argued.
In fact, the Indonesian government has been introducing regulations in
the use of the SVLK system for its timber-based products. Earlier, it
had applied for its timber products to be exported to Europe.
Now, it is drafting the same SVLK system for imported timber products.
"We have discussed it. What remains is the preparation of the
legislation. In principle, all the concerned ministries have agreed to
it," Director General for External Trade of the Ministry of Trade
Bachrul Chairi said recently.
Chairi noted that the government had decided, earlier this year, to
prepare and implement the legislation. That means other countries, such
as China, Norway and Italy, would have to accept the system if they
hoped to export their timber products to Indonesia.
"All countries exporting timber products to Indonesia must adopt the
system; if they fail to meet the system¿s requirements, they will not be
able to export to Indonesia," Chairi added.
He said that Indonesia should introduce the system to other countries
through channels, such as the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), to
enable countries to easily accept the system.
By adopting and introducing new policies with regard to its timber
imports and exports, Indonesia is expected to gain a competitive
advantage in the timber product industry.
European Deputy Ambassador Colin Crooks said Europe faced a serious
problem 10 years ago, when it used to import illegal wood products from
several countries, including Indonesia, which used to export several
illegal timber products at the time.
But both sides are now aware of the problems and are attempting to
jointly resolve the issue. The European Union responded to the public
demand for sustainable, legal imports through the FLEGT Action Plan, as
well as by enacting the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), which
stipulates that the European Union can only import timber products from
forests that have legal permission to be exploited.
The
Indonesian government, in the meantime, Crooks said, had the vision and
desire of ensuring that its timber exports to Europe and other nations
are legal.
"Indonesia
has spearheaded the fight against illegal felling by adopting a
world-class legality verification system," Crooks added, referring to
Indonesia's SVLK scheme.***2***
(T.A014/INE/H-YH)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 27-01-2014 17: |
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