Corruption and companies taking
advantage of lax enforcement and murky regulations to clear forests are the
major causes of the haze that is smothering Malaysia and Singapore, an
Indonesian-based eco-business writer has charged.
And here is the really bad news
for Malaysians and Singaporeans: the hunger for kickbacks increases when
elections are around the corner. As elections are due next year, this may be
one reason why the burning of forests is worse this time around.
The writer noted that as soon
as it became clear the bulk of the burning was taking place in the Riau
province, fingers were pointed at the leading suspect in the issuing of illegal
logging permit: Rusli Zainal, the governor of Riau.
Writing for a sustainable business website, www.ecobusiness.com, Ms Sara Schonhardt quoted Danang widiyoko, chairman of Indonesian Corruption Watch, as saying: “The haze disaster shows the impact of corruption in the forestry sector.’’
The
independent graft monitor recently assessed permit processes in regions where
heaviest logging occurred and noted five cases of corruption which led to
protected forests being converted to plantations.
The
forestry sector has long been a source of rampant corruption. When Suharto was
president, concessions were given to friends and relatives in return for
political backing. As power devolved over the past decade from Jakarta to the
local level, corruption has become more fragmented.
The
report noted that logging and oil palm companies that cut into virgin forests
and peatlands are scaling back conservation efforts – often with the backing of
local leaders seeking kickbacks in return for operating permits. The problem
gets worse in election years, when officials need money to fund campaigns.
With
national elections due next year, this is one reason the burning may be worse
this time around. In many instances, the kickbacks persuade local leaders
charged with supervising plantation operations to look the other way when
companies burn land in protected forest areas, said Danang.
Even
the central government concedes that some mining and plantation companies are
operating illegally but say their hands are tied because it is regional
politicians who dish out the permits.
Indonesia
has one of the fastest rates of forest clearing in the world, much of it done
to make way for palm oil. Many Malaysian plantation companies have also opened
vast tracts of land there. Many of the forests that are being developed stand
on peat lands that release large amounts of carbon emissions when upended. The
peat also becomes highly combustible after it decomposes.
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