The Indonesian government is working on a plan to legalize the exportation of S4S (surface-machined to a smooth finish on all four sides) categories of wood and logs from natural forests, which are currently banned, in an effort to boost revenue from the forest products industry. Indonesian officials are of the opinion that despite of the current global economic crisis, there is demand for S4S and log products in particular markets, especially in the Middle-East. Officials added that countries like Malaysia and China had benefited from Indonesia’s absence in the global market.
The Jakarta Post reports that the Ministry of Forestry has set quotas allowing harvesting of up to 9 million m³ of logs per year. However, official statistics state that only 3 million m³ of logs actually entered into production. Officials are questioning whether the remaining 6 million m³ was harvested and processed illegally, including to process products into S4S.
Conservationists and a number of NGOs noted that the Indonesian government must improve on a mechanism that allows for transparency and good governance in forestry management before embarking on a plan to legalize exportation of S4S.
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