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Much of the logging in Indonesia, takes place in association
with establishment of palm oil or other plantations. As forest is
cleared for plantations, it is a common practice to cut beyond
these areas or get a permit for a larger area than initially plant-
ed. The profits from cutting the surrounding forests are used as
income in the first years of the plantation before the first crop
can be harvested. In many places, plantation permits are issued
for operations but production is never started. The plantation is
a cover for the actual purpose which is logging.
Some deforestation appears to be driven by impoverished small-
scale farmers struggling for a living. This poses a major challenge
as they consist of a diverse group with many individuals and pres-
ents a difficulty for both ethical and practical enforcement and es-
pecially prosecution. However, the reality is often different. In the
Amazon, small-scale farmers may burn to clear forest but rarely
have the capacity to clear large areas of pristine forest. Rather,
larger companies, often in collaboration with or owned by large-
scale ranchers, build logging roads into the forest financing the
expanding roads systems with income from logging the roadways.
As areas are partially cleared, the clear-cuts and secondary forest
provide the opportunity for small-scale impoverished settlers to
move in along road corridors, burn the residue and create small
homesteads. As soils are quickly depleted or expanding ranches
need grassland, small-scale farmers are pushed further into the
forest and the ranchers take away the cleared land for cattle.
ESTABLISHING OR EXPANDING
PLANTATIONS
AGRICULTURAL EXPANSION BY
SMALL-SCALE FARMERS
#7
#8
0
5 000
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
10 000
15 000
20 000
25 000
0
20
40
60
80
100
Timber plantation cumulative area (Thousand hectares)
Illegal logging rate (Percentage)
Log supply from timber plantations (Thousand cubic metres)
O cial data on plantations in Indonesia are controversial. The
accuracy and veracity of it is questioned, and the sudden increase
of log supply from plantations in 2007 is suspect to many
observers. Plantation production data could in fact hide illegal
logged wood that is laundered through increasing the gures
coming from plantation and hide the real origin of the logs.
Sources: UNODC-CIFOR, Lessons for REDD+ from measures to control illegal logging in Indonesia, 2011; Chatman House, Illegal Logging and RelatedTrade Indicators of the Global Response, 2010.
Plantation in Indonesia: a new frontier in black wood laundering?
In many places, the plantation
is a cover for the actual purpose
which is logging.