Indonesia’s commitment with the European Union regarding the export legality of timber is in line with the SVLK-Indonesia and the EU EUTR. But supervision is not only on the export level, because the export wood must be legal from the origin. It is expected that Illegal Logging can be eradicated and then Forestry Corruption will be completed.

By Pietsau Amafnini

The Indonesian government has committed to legally export timber according to SVLK rules. This is also intended to prevent and eradicate the practice of illegal logging in this country. The Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK) requires that timber-based businesses have certificates according to Minister of Forestry Regulation No. 38/2009 jo P.68 / 2010. Until the end of 2012 and early 2013, where V-Legal was an absolute requirement for export timber legality, at least 12 companies were ready to export certified timber through 3 ports to Europe. The European Union also has a Timber Regulation (EUTR) which requires all people as consumers not to accept imported illegal timber from outside. This means that Indonesian export wood must be certified according to the demands of the international market in Europe and Indonesia already has V-Legal.

So what is the wood industry readiness in Indonesia? The majority of the wood industry has implemented this system so that it can be said that it is ready to export certified wood products to Europe. Not only to Europe, but other countries are also expected not to buy wood that is not V-Legal certified from Indonesia. Since 2012, primary forestry industries such as wood processing and ecosystem restoration have begun to implement the SVLK. While secondary industries such as woodcraft were given a December 2013 deadline.

As of January 2013 there were at least 240 industrial units that had passed the SVLK and 76 other units that were still in process. Companies that are ready to export certified wood to Europe include PT. Inhutani Gresik Industrial Management Unit and PT. Tjiwi Kimia Paper Factory from Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya, East Java, and PT. Corinthian Indonesian Industries and PT. Pindo Deli Pulp and Paper Mils from Tanjung Priok port, Jakarta.

The European Union Committee is ready to receive timber from Indonesia according to the EUTR rules that must be carried out by all its citizens in 27 EU member countries. Data from the Ministry of Forestry shows that exports of Indonesian forest products to the European Union are around 1.2 billion US dollars (Rp. 11.4 trillion) per year. In the meantime, Europe is an international market for Indonesian wood products whose regulations are in accordance with Indonesian regulations and it is expected that other countries will emulate this trading system.

The Government of Indonesia has asked timber exporters to include V-Legal documents to ensure the legality or legality of export of wood products to EU member states from the point of logging, processing to transportation. The European Union itself has stated that it is ready to implement the use of V-Legal documents on March 3, 2013 as guarantor of the legality of wood products from Indonesia from the point of logging to transportation of trade and processing. Whereas in Indonesia alone the application of V-Legal documents has been started since January 1, 2013. The difference in the timing of the implementation of the Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK) in Indonesia and Europe is not expected to cause obstacles in Indonesia’s legal timber exports to the European Union. The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) itself will not issue any additional control rules on the borders of European Union countries.

Regarding the implementation of V-Legal, Indonesia has already conducted a trial of shipping exports of wood products along with V-Legal documents in October-December 2012 and the results were positive. High quality wood products from Indonesia are very popular in the European Union. And at the same time, Indonesia and the European Union also expressed a common determination to combat the illegal timber trade. Through cooperation in the implementation of this V-Legal document, Indonesia and the European Union strengthen their cooperation in the legal timber trade partnership, so that all timber and timber products exported to Europe can be legally logged and legally traded in Europe. . After the VPA is in force and is implemented, it means that Indonesian timber products that have been accompanied by a V-Legal export license will be fully accepted as conformity with EUTR requirements, and this is a clear incentive for buyers in Europe.

The government claims that the export of wood and processed wood products earlier this year did not experience problems. This means that the timber legality verification system (SVLK) policy in general does not interfere with the performance of Indonesia’s exports. The Ministry of Forestry noted, the export volume of wood and wood products during January 1 to January 22, 2013, reached 1.01 million cubic meters (m3). The destination of Indonesia’s exports to 94 countries, including countries in Europe. SVLK has been accepted by countries in the European Union. With the validity of the SVLK, importers can monitor their products and there is a guarantee of legality. SVLK can encourage exports of wood products to the European Union. Because, other timber exporting countries which are competitors of Indonesia, do not have legal documents such as the European Union.

The position of Europe is very important for the continuation of the Indonesian processed wood industry. European contribution is quite significant for processed wood exports from Indonesia. In terms of volume, processed wood exports to Europe are indeed only 169,000 m3 or 11% of the total export volume. But, the value reaches US $ 210 million, equivalent to 22% of the total value of Indonesian processed wood exports. Although the market share in Europe has the potential to rise, the value and volume of exports of wood products and processed wood are still difficult to grow. The reason is that world demand is slowing down due to the economic crisis. It is expected to increase to 12% per year. The Ministry of Commerce has projected that until the end of 2012, the export value of Indonesian wood and wood products reached US $ 10 billion. The value of timber exports to Europe reaches US $ 1.2 billion per year. As of January 1, 2013, Indonesia began requiring exporters of wood products to include V-Legal documents to guarantee the legality of timber from the point of logging to transportation, trade and processing and on March 3, 2013, 27 EU member states would implement SVLK for imported wood products according to the EUTR .

Referring to the implementation of V-Legal as a guarantee of export timber trade from Indonesia to Europe, the Indonesian government should also work hard to ensure that the export legality of the timber is really from the origin of its logging. Because, until now, the practice of illegal logging is still widespread in Indonesia. Therefore monitoring of timber circulation from one region to another in Indonesia must be closely monitored.

Because in reality, in the aftermath of OHL I, II and III, many timber entrepreneurs also found a new mode in their efforts to obtain timber forest products. For example, taking wood from the felled location of oil palm plantations without GPA, buying wood from local communities around the forest under the pretext of processed wood from the community, and there are still many ways that are used to obtain timber. It is undeniable that the eradication of illegal logging in the OHL era produced enough results, but the fact showed that OHL was only able to handle small cases in the forestry sector. The timber mafia still continues to do business illegally. The new mode of inter-island timber circulation was also finally found by the entrepreneurs, from round wood to faceted wood (sawn timber). Even though processed wood of balak size 20 x 30 cm and 30 x 40 cm is the ideal size which can be processed further into various sizes needed by consumers. Many new modes are found in the Land of Papua.

In addition, industry capacity is also suspicious where there are companies that have secondary permits with a production volume of 2000 cubic meters per year, but processing primary wood with a much larger volume, can reach 14000 to 18000 cubic meters per year. Unfortunately, it has never been disputed by the authorized institutions. In fact, shipping wood packing from Papua to outside the area can be done twice a month. The container is always full of wood with 18 cubic meters per container unit and each shipment reaches 38 container units. Everyone knows that the wood is not legal, but it has never been questioned by those who have the authority plus the trauma of the failure of OHL in eradicating illegal logging cases in the past few years, so it is better to be foolish about reality. Because the bureaucratic system has been contaminated with the illegal logging mafia. Therefore, in addition to illegal logging and illegal trading, forestry corruption must be eradicated completely. Can the SVLK guarantee this? Where is the role of OHL and KPK and PPATK in this country …? Customs and the Ministry of Trade and all layers of Indonesian society must play an active role in ensuring a healthy, fair business and preserving the environment in a country rich in natural resources. If not, then future grandchildren as the next generation of this country will only be proud that the country inherited from their ancestors once had the largest and widest forest resource wealth in Southeast Asia.

Source: http://jasoilpapua.blogspot.com