The APHDR-UNDP Launched in Jakarta, 12 June 2008.
"....Forestry Forest products contribute to an average of 10 per cent
of the GDP in some of the world’s poorest countries. While the forest area
has increased slightly in industrial countries since 1980, it has declined
by almost 10 per cent in developing countries.22 Deforestation is also
causing massive loss of biodiversity, flooding and soil erosion while
exacerbating global climate change.
The global timber trade is plagued by high rates of illegal logging
which often involves corrupt activities and can be used as a proxy for the
incidence of corruption. With some species of timber reaching $500 per cubic
metre logging is a lucrative business. It involves extensive networks of
corrupt officials within police forces, customs agencies and military forces
– all colluding with powerful national and international syndicates.
Corruption emerges at each link in the chain – from issuing permits and
licenses for wood harvesting to inspecting and exporting the products.
Governments in the region, such as Cambodia’s acknowledge the scale of
corruption and illegal plunder but illegal activity has not been adequately
addressed and anti-corruption activists still face intimidation. Similarly,
the Indonesian Government is active in fighting illegal logging and has
worked with a series of international programmes and initiatives. However,
these efforts are partly being undermined by the activities of neighbouring
countries.
In Indonesia, less than one-fourth of the total logging operations,
estimated at $6.6 billion, is legal. The value added of illegal log exports
represented 3 per cent of Indonesia’s GDP in 2000, or 17 per cent of the
value added of the agricultural sector output. The government also loses
considerable revenue, because almost no taxes are collected on illegal
logging. Informal payments and bribes in this sector are estimated to be
more than $1 billion a year.
The corrosive effects of illegal logging are not only confined to the
forest sector. Forest products are bulky, making illegal lumber visible and
easy to be intercepted by officials. In order for forestry corruption to
thrive, a range of people including customs, police, local politicians and
transport authorities need to collude, and as a result all these
institutions lose their integrity..."[excerpt from the report, page
94-95]
