Corruption in Asia-Pacific forests threatens Australia’s national interest

Corruption and bad governance not only threaten the future of forests in the Asia-Pacific and the millions of rural poor who depend on them, but also pose a risk to Australia’s national interest.

This was the view expressed recently by David Kaimowitz, Director General for the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), key note speaker at the “Forests, Wood and Livelihoods” hosted by the Crawford Fund last August in Canberra.

Forests make a huge contribution to reducing poverty in the developing economies on Australia’s doorstep. In the Solomons, half the country’s export revenue comes from forests. In Indonesia, the figure in 2004 was 13 percent – more than double what it received in foreign aid.

“Much of the Asia-Pacific benefits from Australia’s generosity, a lot of it through taxpayers’ aid dollars spent on helping countries improve their capacity for good governance,” Kaimowitz said.

“This is a good thing. Because in many of these countries, the future of forests looks shaky at best – often due to corruption and other forms of poor governance.”

According to Kaimowitz, illegal logging attracts most media attention. “Illegal logging is media-sexy. It conjures up images of chainsaw wielding gangs slashing down trees and smuggling them in boats and trucks across international borders.

“Sure, that image is not far from the truth. But it’s not the whole picture. A crucial piece in the illegal logging jigsaw is the part played by technically legal timber operators,” Kaimowitz said.

“Illegal activities by ‘legal’ operators have a devastating impact on Indonesia’s forests and the millions of Indonesians who live in or near them.”

One popular scam is the ‘plantation hoax’, where companies get rich by promising to develop oil palm plantations in return for a logging license.

Between 1997 and 2001, one company in Berau clear cut 9,500 hectares of forest without planting a single palm. It then failed to pay the district government most of the $90 million in taxes owed on the timber it cut down. And for all of East Kalimantan – according to the Indonesian daily newspaper Kompas – fictitious oil palm schemes caused state losses of $400 million in 2004. All of this money would go a long way towards improving health facilities, schools and job generating activities.

“It is no wonder President Yudhoyono declared fighting illegal logging as one of his Government’s top priorities. He recognizes the importance of establishing the rule of law, attracting investors, creating jobs, reducing poverty and ensuring social stability,” Kaimowitz said.

The same arguments apply to any country in the Asia-Pacific where a dose of good forestry governance could improve the welfare of millions of rural poor, according to Kaimowitz.

When the Solomon Islands asked Australia to send in troops, the civil unrest had a lot to do with criminal elements fighting over the nation’s forests. Conflict over timber also contributed to Fiji’s coup five years ago. More generally, much of the violence in Mindanao, Myanmar and elsewhere is due to poor forest governance.

If forestry no longer provides jobs and income to the needy – whether due to corruption, illegal logging, fires, or simply bad management – regional stability will suffer and dependency on Australia may increase. GC