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No retreat on logging moratorium, NGOs warn

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 10/15/2010 10:02 AM | National

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Civil society groups are stepping up pressure on the government to honor its pledged moratorium on exploiting forests despite protests from corporations, especially forestry businesses.

Eleven NGOs, including Greenpeace, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Sawit Watch, Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) and Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) issued a joint statement on the moratorium to the government on Thursday.

The two-page document outlined principles, criteria and steps to implement the moratorium.

The groups also condemned the Indonesian government for barring Greenpeace’s flagship Rainbow Warrior from entering Indonesian waters. The Greenpeace vessel was scheduled to dock in Jakarta on Wednesday enroute to Wasior, West Papua, on a humanitarian mission.

The NGOs called on the government to issue a legal basis for the implementation of the moratorium, review permits on forest exploitation and withdraw permits for those found running illegal businesses.

Walhi executive director Berry Forqan, who read out the statement, said the groups were aware of efforts by business entities to stop the planned moratorium.

“There is no reason to cancel it. Disasters in recent years have partly been caused by massive deforestation,” he said.

The group said the moratorium should not have a time limit, but should be imposed until the country met good forest management practices.

Indonesia and Norway signed a US$1 billion climate deal in May requiring Jakarta to impose a two-year moratorium on exploiting natural forest and peatland by 2011. However, there are still no government regulations to implement the moratorium.

Indonesia is required to set up independent institutions on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), financial and measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV) schemes.

A senior Forestry Ministry official said there were no plans to extend the moratorium. “We appreciate the input from NGOs but we should focus on a two-year term for the moratorium,” the director of forest products management at the ministry, Bambang Sukmananto, said.

Visiting Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said the moratorium offered a golden opportunity for Indonesia to improve forest governance.

“Use the moratorium to make space to engage the public, conduct proper research and look at alternatives [on forest governance],” he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/10/15/no-retreat-logging-moratorium-ngos-warn.html