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Forests & forest fires

UK and Indonesia sign landmark agreement on illegal logging

Down to Earth Press Release, 19 April 2002

...but forest communities' rights still violated

Britain and Indonesia are expected to announce today a Memorandum of Understanding to help protect tropical rainforest. Indonesia's forestry minister, Muhammad Prakosa, is in London to sign the agreement with UK Department for International Development. The MoU sets out how the two countries will co-operate on forest law enforcement and governance to combat illegal logging and the international trade in illegally logged timber and wood products.

STATEMENT BY UK NGOs ON THE FORESTRY MoU BETWEEN THE INDONESIAN AND UK GOVERNMENTS

We, as UK NGOs working on forest issues, share the concerns of Indonesian civil society organisations about the rapid rates of deforestation in Indonesia and the consequent loss of sustainable livelihoods.

Rio Tinto's Kelian mine blockaded

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002

East Kalimantan's Kelian gold mine, operated by Anglo-Australian mining multinational Rio Tinto, was forced to cut production in January when four former employees blockaded an access road to the site.

No sign of much-needed reform

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002


As M. Prakosa settles into his job as Indonesia's fourth forestry minister in four years, the direction of forest policy is becoming clearer.

Forestry minister Prakosa made it clear from the start that he did not intend any immediate radical changes. In the hand-over ceremony from Marzuki Usman, he pledged to build on the foundations laid down by his predecessors rather than introduce new programmes.

APP and debt-financed forest destruction

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002


The highly-indebted pulp and paper group, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), commissioned an environmental audit in September to allay fears over rainforest destruction in Sumatra.

Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) conference

Down to Earth No 51 November 2001


The Nias tragedy - a grim reminder of the consequences of continued forest destruction - came at a time of intense public debate about how to reform forest management in Indonesia as a whole. From September 11th-13th, a high profile international meeting on illegal logging, organised by the World Bank, the UK and US aid agencies, was held in Bali.

Adat and the forests

Down to Earth No 51 November 2001


In April this year a series of workshops on adat (customary community organisation) and agroforestry were organised by the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) and the Indonesian indigenous peoples' alliance AMAN. The workshops were facilitated by Dr Marcus Colchester, director of the UK-based Forest Peoples Programme, and management committee member of DTE. The programme was funded by BSP-Kemala.