This case study on reduced impact harvesting in Indonesia is part of a continuing effort by the Forest Harvesting, Trade and Marketing Branch of FAO to bring usable information to the world forestry community. Case studies are part of the FAO commitment to promote environmentally sound forest harvesting operations world-wide.
An objective of this case study was to test applicability of some of the suggestions made in the FAO Model Code of Forest Harvesting Practice that was published in 1996. The results of this study clearly show that the impacts of forest harvesting can be substantially reduced by following recommended practices.
When applying reduced impact harvesting practices, forest stand damage was reduced to half of the amount as compared with conventional methods. The level of system productivity was very encouraging. The total cost difference was not significant between the conventional system and the reduced impact system used in this study.
This case study again demonstrates the necessity of doing a conscientious job of harvest planning. The investigators found that a major obstacle to expanding good planning practice is the lack of topographic maps at a scale and accuracy useful for forest harvest planning.
The study data were collected by graduate students, Mr.D.Losuh and Mr.H.Sularso from the Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia under the supervision of the author.
Rudolf Heinrich
Chief
Forest Harvesting, Trade and Marketing Branch
Forest Products Division
Forestry Department, FAO
