Decentralization of Forest Administration in Indonesia, Implications ...

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Decentralization’s Effects on Forest Concessions and Timber Production
Recognizing the potential threat that the district-level timber permits posed to its
members’ operations, the Association of Indonesian Forest Concession Holders
(Asosiasi Pengusaha Hutan Indonesia, APHI) lobbied intensively at both the national
and provincial levels to halt the widespread allocation of small-scale logging permits
issued by district governments (Barr et al. 2001). By September 1999, APHI had
succeeded in persuading the Director General of Production Forestry to send letters
to governors in each of the country’s major timber-producing provinces, requesting
their assistance in suspending the issuance of further small-scale timber extraction and
forest conversion permits by district governments. The Director General explained
that the implementing regulations for the central government’s transfer of forest
administration responsibilities to the regions (daerah) had not yet been finalized, and
therefore, it was imperative to “avoid the possibility of overlapping timber extraction
permits that could confuse the populace (membingungkan masyarakat).”
While some governors appear to have shared the Director General’s concerns,
provincial governments had very limited power during the early months of Indonesia’s
regional autonomy process to stop the allocation of HPHH and IPPK permits (and other
forms of small-scale logging licenses) by district governments. In East Kalimantan,
for instance, several Bupatis stated publicly that they no longer had to answer to
the governor, as Law 22/1999 on regional governance had dissolved the subordinate
status of district governments in relation to the provincial government. However, one
channel through which governors were still able to exert some degree of influence
over district governments during this time, albeit temporarily, was through the branch
offices of the Provincial Forestry Service (Cabang Dinas Kehutanan, CDK). In many
districts, the allocation of HPHH and IPPK permits required approval not only from
the Bupati but also from the head of the CDK (at least until the CDK were abolished
in 2001). As these branch offices of the Provincial Forest Service had theretofore
reported to the provincial government, the heads of CDK through much of 2000 were
often still reluctant to actively oppose directives from the governor, and some refused
to approve HPHH and IPPK proposals (Barr et al. 2001).
Within this context, some Bupatis took steps to create alternate channels for
issuing district timber permits, at least until they were able to establish a District
Forestry Service (Dinas Kehutanan Kabupaten) under the direct administrative
authority of the kabupaten government. In mid-2000, for example, the government of
Kapuas district in Central Kalimantan transferred technical authority over the issuance
of HPHH permits to what had, until then, been a relatively minor district government
agency, the Office for Reforestation and Land Conservation (Dinas Perhutanan dan
Konservasi Tanah, PKT), which was directly responsible to the Bupati (McCarthy
2001b). McCarthy (2001b) describes this process, as it occurred in July 2000:
PKT’s mandate is to further the reforestation and regeneration of ‘critical
lands’ outside the state-controlled Forest Estate (Kawasan Hutan). But, in the
absence of a district Dinas Kehutanan able to do the bidding of the Bupati
and aid efforts to increase district incomes, PKT has now become involved
in regulating the extraction of timber within the district’s Forest Estate.
According to its head, PKT is able to be ‘more autonomous’ and is therefore