Who=s To Blame?

 

                                                                 By: Student 10

                                                                  IDST 2205 (01)

 

As a representative for an international timber company, I am aware of the growing concern for the world's rainforests.  The company I work for is located in Indonesia.  Rainforests cover about seventy-five percent of Indonesia.  Indonesia has the second largest tropical rainforest behind Brazil.  Indonesia is one of the largest lumber producing countries in the world.  It is the dominant center of wood based processing in Southeast Asia and the industry brings in more than 3.5 billion dollars a year.  Most of this is from plywood.  Indonesia supplies over seventy percent of the world's export plywood made from hardwood.

 

My job as a timber representative is to locate tracts of land that are suitable for harvest.  Usually, the company will lease tracts of land that range in size from 20,000 to 200,000 hectares.  The leases are generally twenty year leases.  This time period gives the trees time to mature.  On these leased tracts only trees that are over fifty centimeters at breast height can be harvested and at least twenty-five trees that range from twenty to twenty-five centimeters at breast height must be left to ensure regeneration.  The company I work for follows all rules and regulations regarding the harvesting of timber.  Many companies do not abide by governmental regulations.  About eighty percent of timber harvested is illegal.  If laws were strictly enforced, it would make it easier for my company to conduct business.  Villagers can sell timber for seventy-five dollars per thirty-five cubic feet.  This makes illegal logging extremely tempting when daily wage is only $2.50.

 

It is true timber companies want to maximize profit, but illegal cutting is not an option for my company.  Before blaming timber companies, one should look at natives and native governments.  Many villagers use the slash and burn method to clear land for grazing.  Many governments pay villagers to clear their land for this purpose.  During the war in Cambodia, the Cambodian government and the Khmer Rouge cleared mass areas of forest to finance the war.  Forest fires are a major factor in the destruction of the rainforests also.  It is estimated that between 50,000 and 500,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed by fires.  Most of these fires could have been prevented by more cautious burning on the part of villagers. 

 

Only oil and gas surpass Indonesia's wood based industry as foreign exchange earners.  About 500,000 workers are employed by forest products industries.  About forty percent of these workers are in logging activities and sixty percent are in wood processing.  More than six million families depend on forestry for their livelihood.  Five point four percent of the total labor force in 1987 was in forest related jobs.  It is estimated that by the year 2000 there will be over half a million workers in forestry and there are 2.3 million people entering the field every year.

 

There are many ways to preserve the world=s rainforests.  One method is selective cutting.  Only twenty percent of land owned can be used for harvesting.  On any tract of land, only trees fifty centimeters must be left.  Concessionaires have been raised to generate more money for replanting and companies are now required to keep better accountability on forest inventories.  Timber estates are being promoted to better use cleared forest land.  One point five million hectares have been planted and by the year 2000, six million hectares are expected to be planted.  Twenty million hectares of replanted lands are the objective of these programs.  Better enforcement of laws will also contribute to the preservation of the rainforests.  Land has also been set aside for forest reserves.  About nineteen million hectares have been set aside for this purpose.  Different wood species are often found together in close stands in natural forests.  Planting the same species on estates is a way to prevent damage to trees that would normally be left in the natural forest.  When these trees are damaged, they are often burnt or left to rot.  Better processing methods are also a way to preserve timber.  New technology cuts down on wood waste and new ways to use left over timber helps prevent waste.

 

Because my company follows government rules and regulations, there are not too many items I can compromise on.  My livelihood and that of many others depends on forestry and the harvesting of trees. Deforestation is a major problem, but I am not and neither is my company the culprit in this situation.  We abide by the law and conduct business ethically.  The culprits are those businesses who have no regard for the law or the environment and the governments that allow them to exploit lands.  When government enforce laws and villagers obey them, the problem of rainforest depletion will be reduced and a balance of life can be obtained and kept.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                     Bibliography

 

Choong, Elvin T/Atmawidjaja, Rubini/Achmadi, Suminar S./The forest products industry in Southeast Asia: An emphasis on Indonesia: Forest Products Journal/v43n/p. 44-52 May

 

Economist/v36n8054/p. 36/Feb 7, 1998

 

Murakami, Asako/Japan Times Weekly Internation Edition/v36n24/p. 10-11/Jun 17-June 23, 1996

 

Brown, Lester R./Flavin Christopher/French Hilary/State of the World/1999 ed./Worldwatch Institute 1999/New York-London/p.60-77.