A tougher stance against illegal logging has been signalled by the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance East Asia Ministerial Conference.
The event, which ended in Bali, Indonesia on September 13 and involved 150 participants from 15 countries, resulted in the signing of a declaration committing the participants to intensify efforts to combat widespread breaking of national forest laws. In particular, more is to be done to curb illegal logging and associated corruption.
The declaration also states that each country will explore ways in which the trading of illegally felled timber can be eliminated. Participating countries agreed to create a regional task force on forest law enforcement and governance to advance the objectives of the declaration.
News of the move comes shortly after it was claimed that illegal logging in Indonesia could force legal logging operations into bankruptcy within six months.
The warning came from Nana Suparna of the Association of Indonesian Forestry Entrepreneurs who said that illegal loggers had flooded the market with cheaper logs. Suparna said there were several furniture com-panies in West Java importing illegal wood because it was cheaper than wood produced legally in Indonesia’s Kalimantan or Sumatra.
