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ACEH'S forest areas are in dan-ger of illegal logging. The needfor timber for post-tsunami re-construction has caused the over-exploitation of dipterocarpaceae

high-quality wood that resulted in therecent flooding of some parts of Aceh.

This can be seen at Babahrot in South-west Aceh. This forest area in the Leusernature conservation area has been infil-trated by a number of workers looking forred meranti (shorea sp.) wood reportedlyto meet the needs for timber for severalreconstruction sites. In the past this wasthe location of a forest concessionaire sin-ce 1979. But in 2000, this timber companystopped its operations. Today, the urgentneed for wood for reconstruction makesthe lumberjacks start illegal logging.

In view of these indications, Conserva-tion International (CI) Indonesia and sev-eral NGOs are launching a drive to saveAceh's ecosystem. According to Dr DidyWurjanto, Terrestrial Program Director

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of CI Indonesia, the effort has yielded acomprehensive mapping of Aceh. TheAceh government and the Aceh-Nias Re-habilitation & Reconstruction Agency(BRR) have conducted the mapping toclearly identify the regions designatedfor settlements, plantations and forestexploitation.

In order to lessen the pressure on theAceh forests, CI Indonesia in collaborationwith WWF-Indonesia through USAIDsupport encourages the Timber for Aceh(TFA) program, a timber-aid program forpost-tsunami Aceh reconstruction. Thisparticular campaign is carried out at alllevels of the community and the govern-ment. "The Aceh people are very reli-gious, so they would always listen to whatthe religious clerics say," said FachruddinMangunjaya of CI Indonesia. -

Through religious and cultural ap- Sproaches, according to Didy, some Aceh ~people start to know environment- ~friendly methods of farming. "They ~

TEMPO, APRIL 16, 2007

make a conscious effort to choose to useorganic fertilizers and not transgressinto forest reserves," said Didy.

As "rewards" for these conserva-tion actions by the people, CI Indonesiamakes every effort to find markets forthe plantation products being turned outby the people. For coffee, for example,

MtLeuserNationalPark,Aceh(left).ElephantpatrolintheLeuserEcosystemarea,Langkat,NorthSumatra.

Didy said there are potential buyers of-fering a high price for the item as an in-centive for such conservation practices.

Of course these potential buyers willnot buy the coffee if the people do notsupport the conservation efforts. "So,through conservation the people alsogain benefits. And, above all else, theAceh people have learned to look afterthe forests and their contents which area legacy for posterity," said Didy. .

Environment-FriendlyTimber

THE moratorium on illegal logging had actually been put into effect sincethe days of Governor Abdullah Puteh's administration. This policy hadreduced timber supplies in Aceh. Of course this affected the post-tsuna-mi reconstruction process which calls for a great amount of timber. This

causes worries on the part of several environmental organizations about the op-portunity for forest exploitation in the name of reconstruction.

Nana Firman, WWF-Indonesia's Aceh Program Coordinator, says: "There'sneed for some 1.5-1.6 million cubic meters of logs or about 800,000-900,000 cu-bic meters." To build a house of a 36-square-meter size, for example, requires3 cubic meters of timber. If this raw material is taken from the forests, we canimagine the magnitude of pressure on the natural resources in Aceh.

To help anticipate this, CI Indonesia along with WWF -Indonesia through theUSAID support encourages the Timber for Aceh (TFA) program. Through thisprogram, the timber used for reconstruction is donated from outside Indonesia.According to Nana, there are two schemes to obtain it. First, it is donated bycompanies from outside Indonesia. Second, advocacy to Humanitarian Agencyto use environment-friendly timber.

This program has succeeded in bringing more than 45,000 cubic meters oftimber to Aceh and Nias. The remaining 20,000 cubic meters are under ship-ment.

It is expected that this timber aid will inspire awareness to the Aceh govern-ment and population to boost the preservation of the forest areas. "This will en-hance the image ofAceh rehabilitation for paying attention to the principles ofenvironment," says Dr Didy Wurjanto, Terrestrial Program Director of CI In-donesia.

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TEMPO, APRIL 16, 2007 3