Practices

Three main silvicultural systems are employed in Indonesia to cover the wide range of natural forest types across the dipterocarp-rich forests in Sumatera, Kalimantan and Sulawesi to the dipterocarp-poor forests in Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Irian Jaya. These are (1) selective cutting and replanting (TPTI-Tebang Pilih Tanam Indonesia), (2) clear-cutting with natural regeneration (THPA), and (3) clear-cutting with artificial regeneration (THPB) applied to plantation forests. These systems are regulated through laws and decrees. Guidelines for these systems have been prepared by the Ministry of Forestry. These require loggers to submit plans for inventory, road construction and felling, to conduct residual stand inventory, to replant and retain at least 25 commercial trees (20-30 cm dbh) per hectare after logging, and to carry out post-harvest surveys and treatment.

The dominant TPTI system has been applied to management of the natural forests since 1969. This system requires concession holders to manage on a 35-year cutting cycle (mangroves, by contrast, are managed on a 45-year cycle). No tree less than 50 centimetres (20 inches) in diameter may be felled for timber. At least 25 commercially valuable trees with diameters between 20 and 30 centimetres must remain per hectare after logging, and enrichment planting is specifically required after harvesting. Seedling stock may come from either nurseries or from dense natural regeneration elsewhere in the forest. Each concession is divided into 35 blocks, and only one block can be harvested per year. The Ministry of Forestry sets an allowable annual cut that is based on the cutting cycle and the area under concession. A minimum of 700 hectares within each concession area is required to be protected as a conservation area.

Average annual growth rates for short rotation pulp and paper plantations are estimated at 25-30 m3/ha/yr on 8 to 10 year rotations for hardwood (such as acacia and eucalyptus), while pines are grown on 15 to 18 year rotations.

Forest conservation measures

Indonesia¿s protected areas network covers 54 million hectares (encompassing around 44 percent of the total forest area and around 26 percent of the total land area). Protected forest areas are divided into conservation forests (20.6 million hectares) and protection forests (33.9 million hectares). The 1990 Conservation of Living Natural Resources and their Ecosystems Act distinguishes between nature sanctuaries (nature reserves and game reserves) and nature conservation areas (national parks and grand forest parks). These designations provide differing degrees of legal protection ranging from nature reserves, where no human activities are allowed, to national parks where utilization of natural resources by local people is permitted within a system of management zoning. A national action plan that identifies the priorities for conserving biodiversity has also been prepared. The Basic Environmental Law legally requires an environmental impact assessment for all environment-related projects.

Indonesia is involved in implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and Ramsar Convention protecting wetlands, and has ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity. Measures have also been taken to implement an integrated conservation and development approach in managing the national parks and to intensify maintenance of protected areas.

Forest protection measures

Protection measures are coordinated through the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation. This encompasses a Directorate of Forest Protection with sub-directorates for Forest Fire, Forest Interference and Personnel and Equipment for Forest Protection. Fire is a significant environmental and economic threat in Indonesia, as evidenced by the fires of 1997 and 1998. In response to the major fire occurrences, an Integrated Forest Fires Protection System has been designed in collaboration with the European Commission and implementation commenced in 1994. In addition, mapping to classify forest areas susceptible to serious forest fires is being carried out, and in collaboration with Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, a forest fire information system has been established. A National Fire Management Plan was completed and given legal status in 1999. This is associated with a national team for forest fire control. An annual Forest Fire Awareness Campaign is also run. To assist reforestation and fire prevention, the government levies a reforestation fee on concessionaires based on the volume of timber harvested. The Government has also launched a series of programs aimed at discouraging shifting cultivation practices ("slash and burn" farming) on the outer islands and imposes severe fines and penalties for illegal logging. It has also instituted a "no-burn" policy for land clearing.

Forest harvesting practices

Forest harvesting in Indonesia is predominantly carried out using the Indonesian selective cutting and planting system (TPTI), as described above (Silviculture). However, the system of logging concessions and selective cutting, whereby private concessions are granted to private or state companies, is being replaced by the Production Forest Management Unit (KPHP) system. Studies conducted with the support of the UK Overseas Development Agency (ODA), conclude that the KPHP is a promising system for better management of natural production forests in Indonesia. This method is being introduced in two provinces, Central Kalimantan and Jambi where the area of production forest management units range from 40 000 to 120 000 hectares. In many cases where company licences have been revoked, the Ministry has taken over the management of these concessions. In 1998, the government issued a new policy that limited concession areas to a maximum of 400 000 hectares per concessionaire throughout the country. Expired concessions and excessive areas are allocated or sold at auction to cooperatives, to small and medium-scale businesses, or to state-owned companies to manage and rehabilitate. There is currently a proliferation of mini-concessions of up to 100 hectares that can be allocated by local government as part of the decentralization process.

Indonesia has operated as task manager for the FAO Asia Pacific Forestry Commission in developing the Asia Pacific Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting and has organized related training tours and workshops. A draft national code has also been prepared and a guidebook, ¿Principles and Practices of Forest Harvesting in Indonesia¿, has been developed to assist these processes. At the operator level, a guidebook for tree harvesting in tropical forest has also been published. Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) continues to be promoted and has involved the establishment of RIL demonstration sites and the publication of a technical procedures manual and training material. RIL guidelines are currently being formulated. Studies comparing conventional harvesting with reduced impact harvesting have been carried out. Since 1996, around 100 forest concessionaires have been trained in RIL techniques.

The timber industry is currently confronted with a huge gap between supply and demand of raw material. This gap has resulted in a threat not only to the forest itself, but also to the continued existence of significant portions of the wood industry in Indonesia. The shortfall in 2000 between roundwood supply (24.7 million m3) and industrial production demand (63.5 million m3) is 38.8 million cubic metres.

Ministry of Forestry estimates for distribution of wood supplies from forests in 2000, are: natural forest - 14.3 million m3 (58 percent), conversion forest - 7.0 million m3 (28 percent), plantation forest - 2.8 million m3 (11 percent) and community woodlots - 0.6 million m3(3 percent).

last updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009