All About Environmental

Pollution Equipment News

2009-06-13T04:51:00.001+07:00

Providing information to professionals who work with Hazardous Waste, Wastewater, Air and Water.

Pollution Equipment News features equipment and services for the air, water, wastewater and hazardous waste fields. Here are some sample issue features: Gas Detection, Water Quality and Sampling Instrumentation, Flow and Level Monitoring, Water and wastewater treatment, Continuous Emission Monitors, Air Cleaning Equipment, Air Sampling Equipment, Solvent Recovery, Geomembranes, Tanks, Valves and Pumps, and many more.

Geographic Eligibility: USA, Canada

Offered Free by: Rimbach Publishing Company, Inc.

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Waste Management World

2009-06-13T04:49:00.002+07:00

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"Waste Management World"

Waste Management World is the leading international publication for the global waste management industry.

Waste Management World delivers the latest news and global developments from across the industry. Articles report on international projects, best practices, technological developments, trends and legislation. Each issue covers biological waste treatment, collection and transport, recycling and waste minimization, sanitary landfill and thermal treatment of waste.

Geographic Eligibility: International

Offered Free by: PennWell Corporation

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Hydroelectric Industry Worldwide

2009-06-13T04:45:00.001+07:00

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HRW provides comprehensive coverage of the Hydroelectric Industry Worldwide.

HRW's mission is to provide a worldwide network for sharing practical, technical information and expertise on hydroelectric power. HRW brings together the international community sharing a common interest in hydro. This community includes:

Developers, owners, and operators of hydroelectric plants and dams.
Service providers, including engineering and environmental consultants.
Equipment vendors.
Regulators, financiers, and legal specialists.

Geographic Eligibility: International (excluding North America). If you are in the United States or Canada, please click here: Hydro Review.

Offered Free by: PennWell Corporation

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Hydro Review's magazine

2009-06-13T04:12:00.002+07:00

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Hydro Review magazine covers hydro in North America.

Hydro Review's goal is to provide readers with reliable, relevant information on the issues and challenges encountered in the hydro industry and offers practical, useful information, helpful examples, and constructive guidance from experts. The information readers receive helps promote and sustain the important role of hydroelectric power in North America. News and articles focus on industry trends, equipment, O&M, rehabilitation, redevelopment, dam safety, environmental effects, R&D, and much more!

Geographic Eligibility: USA, Canada. If you are outside of the United States or Canada, please click here: HRW.

Offered Free by: PennWell Corporation

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Pollution Engineering provides information for today's Engineers and Consulting Engineers in the Pollution Control field

2009-01-28T20:37:00.002+07:00

Pollution Engineering provides information for today's Engineers and Consulting Engineers in the Pollution Control field.

It provides information about regulatory requirements, and information about the business benefits of proactive environmental control. It provides us up to date information on regulations and economic benefits of environmental control techniques and information on innovative and cost effective environmental equipment, products, technology and services.

Publisher: BNP Media

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Try 3 Risk-Free Issues of Environmental Finance Magazine!

2009-01-28T20:23:00.002+07:00

Environmental Finance Magazine is a monthly magazine, covering the ever-increasing impact of environmental issues on the lending, insurance, investment and trading decisions affecting industry. It is the only global publication dedicated to this fast-changing area.

Every month in Environmental Finance Magazine leading industry specialists and an experienced team of journalists provide timely and incisive news and analysis on a broad range of environmental issues including weather risk management, renewable energy certificates, emissions markets and "green" investments.

If you like Environmental Finance Magazine and would like to continue receiving it, pay the special rate of $495 (full price: $585) for 10 more issues (13 issues in all). Your 3 risk-free issues are yours to keep, no matter what!

Publisher: Fulton Publishing

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Today's Energy Solutions publish free magazine

2008-12-03T17:29:00.003+07:00

Today's Energy Solutions will serve small and large energy companies, manufacturers/designers of materials and components for alternative energy resources, and a select group of government offices.

Even with widespread conservation measures, the need for electricity is estimated to increase by 40% by 2030. This demand for energy is the new frontier for manufacturers with the foresight and determination to design and build systems and components for generating new energy solutions as well as reducing the cost and improving the capacity of existing energy sources.

Today's Energy Solutions is the only publication devoted to helping these manufacturers succeed. With quarterly issues in 2008, Today's Energy Solutions will provide valuable information to help manufacturing professionals improve productivity on current processes as well as facilitate the creation of new processes for alternative energy solutions.

Subscription for USA (Print or Digital Version Available), Canada, Mexico, and International (Digital Version Only)

Publisher: GIE Media Inc.

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Pollution of the World improved 3 percent

2008-10-05T03:49:00.002+07:00

Carbon dioxide emissions as the indicator of the pollutant were most important experienced the rise 3 percent between 2006 and 2007. The rate of the above rise the estimate of several experts in the environment was in fact acknowledged as the condition that screams.

This situation startling because when global economics generally experienced the sluggishness evidently still contributed the rise in the rate of high pollution. A half big the source of pollution was still continuing to come from the use of coal and fuel oil. China was recorded as the country that contributed biggest pollution in the world replaced the US position since 2006. Was based on the BP PLC estimation, one of the companies of oil of the world giant, carbon dioxide emissions that were produced by the activity of the industry in China reached 2 billion ton during 2007 or rose 7, 5 percent of the year beforehand.

Now carbon dioxide emissions from the USA as big as 1, 75 billion ton or rose 2 percent of the year beforehand. The rate of pollution was estimated would so high especially from developing countries that were experiencing the growth of the industry was very high like China. India currently also shifts the third position that previously were occupied Russia. According to Kyoto protocol, China and India including in the list of the developing country that must not reduce his carbon dioxide emissions like developed countries.

However, at this time, developing countries precisely contributed 53 percent pollution of carbon dioxide. Industrialized countries began to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions. Denmark succeeded in reducing emissions of 8 percent, England and Germany of 3 percent. Now France and Australia lowered of 2 percent. "Nature could not absorb carbon dioxide from humankind," said Corinne Le Querre, the professor of the environment from the East Anglia University and Survey Antarctica England (BAS). Moreover, he continued, from the year 1955-2000, the forest and the ocean could absorb approximately 57 percent carbon dioxide, but at this time only could absorb 54 percent then.

An Inter Government Panel for the Change in the Climate (IPCC) predicted the Earth temperature will increase between 4-11 percent during 2100 resulting from that pollution. This matter will cause the plague of the so many illnesses, also the big storm often welcome, as well as the rise in the face of sea water. If the rate of carbon dioxide emissions higher than the estimate, readied-readied the disaster came earlier.(Kompas)

Reduced ate meat prevented the change climate

2008-10-05T03:44:00.003+07:00

One of the rumors that still were warm in 2008 this was the change in the climate. Moved on them these rumors made the person in the world in great numbers improve the style of his life. The change in the climate caused nature damage that so sad, as melting him eternal ices in the North Pole. Several experts in the world in fact predicted the layer of eternal ice in the North Pole possibly was completely lost this year.

If this condition really happened, the rise in the face of sea water could not be resulting from the liquefaction of large-scale ice prevented. The flood threatened the coastal region of the entire world. The rise in the temperature of the atmosphere also it was indicated triggered the storm increasingly often and strong so as to increase the risk of the damage threat. To prevent this matter could be done simply provided that is realized by everyone.

The expert in the climate from Intergovernmental Panel ounce Climate Change (IPCC), one of Associations from United of Nations (UN), Rajendra Pachauri, succeeded in finding the matter that was very simple to slow down the effect of the change in the climate in the world. According to him, reduced consumption of meat could reduce this effect. He said anyone must be willing.

According to him, reduced consumption of meat could reduce this effect. He said anyone must be willing to opportunity one day in a week, lived without meat food. "Don't eat meat one day in one week routinely, that would reduction this effect," he said. It was male that the vegetarian was 68 years old that said this diet was very important because of reducing the number of livestock. Because, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), livestock breeding efforts contributed greenhouse gases emissions directly of 18 percent of the process of the processing until the reduction as well as gas discarded the livestock that contained methane. The control of the livestock will give the significant impact.(BBC)

The use of ozone depleting substance must be stopped

2008-10-04T04:14:00.001+07:00

The government must stop the use of ozone depleting substance (BPO). Moreover until now still many companies that used BPO illegal. In accordance with President Regulation No. 23 in 1992 about the Ratification of the Viennese Convention, Montreal Protocol, and the London Amendment, the Government has made a commitment to control and reduced import BPO in stages. The "government ought to give the incentive to the substance non BOP (read= the company that used the substance non BOP) in order to the BPO smuggling not happen illegal," said Sugiharto, Sales Manager of PT. Perdoni, one of the importer's companies of chemicals in discussions commemorated the Ozone Internasional Day, on Tuesday (16/9), in Jakarta.

According to Sugiharto, many businessmen who still were using BPO because of the price more cheaply when compared with non BPO. One of BPO that was forbidden by the government to be Chloro Fluoro Carbon (CFC).

Arthur Palar, considered the use of the substance non BPO precisely beneficial because the company became environment-friendly and the employee more paid attention to the cleanliness. "Moreover BPO has been banned by the government," said General Affair PT. Topjaya an air cooler producer and the refrigerator. Arthur added, his company will carry out the conversion of the material refrigerant R141b to hydrocarbons (Cyclopentane) because more environment-friendly and safe.

Arthur acknowledged, initially the company of few difficulties when no longer used BPO for his products. "There were several machines that must be replaced," said Arthur. The Ozone International day that fell on this day was commemorated in 22 level regional governments of the province. This number more compared to the warning of the ozone day last year. Be present in this agenda, the ministry's staff of the environment and stakeholders related.(kompas)

Biopori the Flood Preventive

2008-10-03T11:52:00.002+07:00

Biopori was the cylindrical hole that was made vertically into the land. The diameter hole about 10-30 cm. The depth of the absorption biopori hole (LRB) around 100 cm or did not exceed the depth of the ground water. This hole is usually filled up the organic waste. The functioning waste brought land micro-organisms, like the earthworm back to life.

This worm will eventually be assigned to form pores or the tunnel in the land (biopori). The benefit that was produced from the biopori hole this was very heterogeneous. Pores made the land to be hollow until speeding up the process of absorbing of water into the land. Horizontally, the absorption of water flowed in the land through the biopori hole that was produced from the activity of the worm.

The biopori hole was effective technology that was useful to reduce the pool of water and the organic waste. Especially around your house, in part to reduce the level of the pool of water in the yard. And if being made in a mass fashion to the environmental garden, then this hole could also reduce the pool of water in the housing region.(kompas)

Green Energy created 20 Million New Work Vacancies

2008-09-26T21:37:00.000+07:00

The development of alternative energy could it was estimated create approximately 20 million work vacancies in the world until several decades came. That was based on the report United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). As being quoted by The Australian, on Thursday (25/9/2008), 50 percent of 2.3 million people it was predicted could work in the sector of the development bio fuel.

However, the acceleration of the new opening of the work vacancy depended on the step in each country in applying the policy towards the environment, as replacing the oil well and gas to the source of the wind, the sun, or geothermal. "If we immediately did not transform the development" of "economics in the sector" of "this energy then we will lose the opportunity for millions of work vacancies," said Director UNEP, Achim Steiner.

However according to Steiner, the number of work opportunities in the sector of alternative energy evidently did not yet resolve the problem. Because the world population will increase to 8 until 9 billion during 2050, In this decade, sources will like oil, metal, and gas be very expensive and were difficult to be found.

The problem of the crisis in the world could be anticipated if for ten years from now each country takes the serious step in overcoming the height of the price of oil by developing energy alternative.

Thailand and China, Thorough the Change in the Climate

2008-09-26T21:05:00.000+07:00

Thailand and China will sign the agreement in the climate of the change research in Incarcerated Sea. The research together that was estimated will take up time for three years, and aimed at knowing the change in the climate in order to predict the pattern of the wind 'monsoon'.

The "aim of the co-operation was to learn the change" in the "Monsoon wind, because of several researchers claimed global warming increased the change danger" in the "weather that was difficult to be predicted," said the researcher Marine Biological Centre, Thailand, of Somkiat Khokiattiwong, as being launched by the AFP, on Tuesday (23/9/2008).

According to him, Incarcerated Sea was the place the first time the wind 'monsoon' emerged. The research will help the two countries to know the pattern of the cyclone. The Monsoon wind indeed became attention of the Thai government. Two Monsoon winds that were accompanied by fall of the rain at last day happen caused 16 residents of the white elephant country to be killed and thousands of houses remained the flood. The agreement, mentioned China will support all the cost of the data collection in Incarcerated. Whereas the analysis was carried out by the two countries, the signing of the co-operation will be carried out on Friday (26/9/2008) later, between Marine Biological Centre and China's First Institute of Oceanography in Beijing.

2100: Earth of temperature increase 6,3 Percent

2008-09-26T20:53:00.000+07:00

The temperature of the earth it was predicted increased between 2.4 and 6.3 Celsius levels in 2100. This condition was caused by the increase in pollution of emissions of carbon dioxide gas. According to the scientists, as being quoted by Foxnews, on Friday (26/9/2008), this horrifying situation has begun to be felt since at this time.

In 2007 then pollution that came from carbon emissions increased to three percent. These emissions were the main factor the trigger of the occurrence of global warming. Was based on the data, China and the United States was in the highest place with the level of high pollution.

The situation is not the same than inside out with the developing country that precisely was trying to reduce pollution of carbon dioxide (CO2). China in fact contributed more than half of the pollution CO2 in the world. It’s not far different from China; United States was recorded produced 1, 75 billion ton carbon for 2007. A senior researcher the department of Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Gregg Marland, said was most startled enough with this report. According to him, necessarily emissions of world carbon descended because the condition for the economy of the world also descended.

Marland said, the report on the BP PLC oil company saw emissions often caused because of the burning from fuel oil, and the cement industry. China contributed more than 2 billion ton carbon in 2007, or increased 7, 5 percent of the year beforehand. Moreover, Marland said, India was in the place of the three biggest pollution contributors, and the other country that must be paid attention to Indonesia, where pollution increased was drastic enough. In the meantime, countries that experienced the decline in pollution CO2 were Denmark that descended 8 percent. England and Germany succeeded in unloading 3 percent emissions, whereas Australia and France succeeded in pressing emissions as far as 2 percent

Making the Internet more environmentally friendly by Tool CO2Stat Basic.

2008-03-22T01:54:00.000+07:00

This is a new tool green campaign for to how know the time visitors spend at your site and then estimate how much carbon dioxide is expended in powering the personal PCs and servers involved.

CO2Stats Basic is a free tool that makes your website environmentally friendly. Whenever people view your web site or blog, they use electrically-powered computers and servers. To create electricity, power companies must burn fuels that emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and cause global warming. CO2Stats monitors how much electricity is being used to power your site, and then it "offsets" the emissions by investing in renewable energy projects that help to counteract global warming. Our offsets are funded by advertising sponsors who are committed to making the Internet more environmentally friendly.

According to Enza Wenzel says at webware.com "How green is your Web site? CO2Stats will add up the time visitors spend at your site and then estimate how much carbon dioxide is expended in powering the personal PCs and servers involved".

The CO2Stats widget can be added to a Web site or blog just by cutting and pasting some code. Based upon visitor traffic, the service's ticker will count the carbons and then pay the equivalent in offsets to Sustainable Travel International. That nonprofit funds renewable energy and development in the developing world, in addition to green power projects in North America.

Know you can place the widget and every time you can show how much carbon dioxide is expend by your website. If you are interested in the green campaign you can click at my widget at bottom sidebar don't worry no anything refferall it's all free.

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2008-03-22T00:29:00.001+07:00

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2008-02-28T17:06:00.001+07:00

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The Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park (TNBT) Indonesia

2008-02-08T04:55:00.000+07:00

The Bukit Tiga Puluh national park (TNBT) had the area 144.223 Ha, with the ecosystem of the rainforest of the plain tropics (lowland tropical rain forest), this region was the transition between the swamp forest and the mountainous forest and the ecosystem that was unique and different compared with the other national park region available in Indonesia.

The Tiga Puluh hill was the hilly carpet that was separated from the series of Barisan Hill mountains was located in the border of the Jambi province and Riau, this area was the area of the arrest of water (catchment the area) so as to form small rivers and to be the upstream from big rivers in the area of surrounding area.

Several fauna kinds that could be encountered in the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park in part: the Sumatran Tiger, Beruang Madu, Inserted Breaker Tapir, Inserted Breaker Siamang, Kancil, Babi Hutan, Burung Rangkong, Kuaw, and various other fauna kinds.
Whereas the rare flora kind that was expected endemic in this region was the Muka Rimau Mushroom (Rafflesia haseltii).
Apart from being the habitat from various flora kinds and the rare fauna and being protected, the TNBT region also was the place of the life and settled several of the ethnic group's most foreign communities like Talang Mamak, Anak the Forest and withered Tua, that made this region to be interesting to be explored.

The Bukit Tigapuluh national park was the hilly region in the middle of the Sumatran carpet of the eastern part plain, and had the potential for the diversity of the plants kind/the valuable endemic fauna was high enough.

The type of the compiler's ecosystem of the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park forest was the plain forest, the forest pamah and the plateau forest with his flora kind like jelutung (Dyera costulata), red latex (Palaquium spp.), pulai (Alstonia scholaris), kempas (Koompassia excelsa), rumbai (Shorea spp.), the face mushroom rimau/raflesia (Rafflesia hasseltii), jernang or the palm of dragon blood (Daemonorops draco), and various rattan kinds.

The Bukit Tigapuluh national park had 59 mammalian kinds, 6 primate kinds, 151 birds kinds, 18 bat kinds, and various butterfly kinds.
Besides being the Sumatran tiger habitat (Panthera tigris sumatrae), the tapir (Tapirus indicus), ungko (Hylobates agilis), the sweet bear (Helarctos malayanus malayanus), sempidan blue (Lophura ignita), kuau (Argusianus argus argus) et cetera; also as the protection hidro-orologis the Kuantan Indragiri River Basin.

Originally the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park region was the protected forest and the limited production forest. Nevertheless, the condition for this national park forest was relative still was natural.

The community around the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park consisted of several ethnic groups with the customs and traditions and the relative culture still was very traditional that is the Anak Ethnic Group In, Suku Talang Mamak et cetera.
This community especially the Talang Mamak Ethnic Group, believed that the hill and available plants in this national park had the magical strength in their life. Indirectly they were participating was active in guarded and protected the hill/plants in the national park.

Several locations/the object that was interesting to be visited:

"Hitam Dalam Water".Followed the river and saw witnessed the life of plants/the fauna.Hitam Dalam water was the Sumatran tiger habitat.
Tembelung smoked. Saw the waterfall panorama, bathed and observation of plants.
The Belipat stone and the Gatal Stone.The cultural tour. Crossed jeram.
The activity crossed jeram could be carried out in the Gangsal River, Sungai Menggatai, and the Sipang River.
Kemantan. The cultural tour, to see the Talang Mamak ceremony of the Ethnic Group's piety.
The attraction of the culture outside the national park: the Attraction of the culture outside the national park that is Siak Bermandah in June and the Pacu jalur in August in Riau.

The best visit season: in March s/d in July each year.

The location from Pekanbaru - Riau to Seberida Distrik about +/- 285 km or 5 hours by bus/car.

Legality :

Stated ----- was pointed out Forestry Minister, SK No. 539/Kpts-II/1995
widely 127,698 hektar
was appointed Forestry Minister, SK No. 6407/Kpts-II/2002
widely 144,223 hektar.

Location at Indragiri Hulu dan Indragiri Hilir Regencies, Riau Province. Bungo Tebo & Tanjung
Jabung Regencies, at Jambi Province
Temperature 28° – 37°C
The height of the place 60 - 734 meters (dpl)
The geografic at 0°40’ - 1°30 S, 102°13’ - 102°45’ W

(some recourses)

Emision Report and Global Warming

2008-01-24T02:07:00.000+07:00

As a new report is published calling for urgent international action on global warming, the United Nations has released new data showing that the rich countries have made little overall progress in reducing their production of the gases blamed for climate change.

The data, released by the UN Climate Change Secretariat, suggests that a 3% drop in emissions by industrialised countries between 1990 and 2004 was due to the economic chaos in eastern Europe after the collapse of Communism.

It says emission levels among other countries from the 40 monitored - such as the United States, Canada, Japan and some European nations - continued to rise and the upward trend was now being augmented by the revived economies of the former Soviet bloc.

A UN spokesman said it was still possible for those countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol on reducing emissions to meet their commitments, but they had to intensify their efforts, this news reported by BBC.

Learning from the Riau Forests

2008-01-20T05:11:00.000+07:00

Learning from the Riau Forests

The natural forests of Riau are being lost at an astonishing rate. In just one decade, more than 3.7 million hectares of forests were destroyed in the province from a total forest area of 6.4 million hectares. By 2005, just 2.7 hectares, less than 33 percent of the forest area of Riau remained. The majority of the remaining forests were in peat forest areas with a peat depth of more than 3 meters.

The timber processing industry is the culprit behind the decline in Riau’s natural forests. In 2000, there were 312 units of forestry industry in Riau with an average production capacity of 49,000 tons/year, which is equivalent to 15.8 million m3/year. At the same time, the capacity of the forests to sustainably supply raw material was only 1.1 million m3/year.

Strangely enough, the Riau Province Regional Forestry Office recorded increases in the quantity and capacity of forestry industry in 2005 to 576 units with a total raw material production of 22.7 million m3/year. This is extremely surprising. How is it possible, with such a large discrepancy between supply and demand, that the Riau Regional Forestry Office instead increased production capacity by granting more than 200 extraction licenses for the continuation and expansion of logging?

Of the total 22.7 million cubic meters of timber needed to fulfill industrial needs in Riau, about 17.92 million cubic meters is destined for the two largest pulp industries in Indonesia, RAPP (APRIL Group) and IKPP (APP Group).

Why do they need so much? This has occurred because these two industries have made no serious attempt to develop their Industrial Timber Estates, while at the same time massively expanding their pulp and paper mill facilities. In October 2003, the Megawati era Minister for Forestry, M. Prakosa, stated that many pulp and paper plants were obtaining illegal timber for their raw materials, “Many pulp and paper industries use raw materials not only from Industrial Timber Estates, but also from the natural forests or even accept illegal timber. The greed of industry for raw materials thus has the potential to become a factor in forest destruction. Pulp and paper industries should not be short of raw materials if they planted Industrial Timber Estates according to schedules based on the needs of the industry that they manage.”

In discussions with representatives from a number of local NGOs, one of the IKPP finance staff arrogantly stated:

“We are in no hurry to establish Acacia plantations as long as cheap mixed timber supply is still available. Why must we exchange these with Acacia? We have access to cheap raw materials. Establishing Acacia plantations not only requires a lot of funds, but is also full of risks. The Acacia plantation that we are establishing now is no different to an insurance policy. We will cash it in when timber supplies from the natural forests are no longer available.”

Ironically, these two companies control 1,544,220 hectares of natural forests and an additional 388,821 hectares through companies that are directly affiliated with them. Less than 350,000 hectares of the 1.8 million hectares they control (21% of the total land area of Riau) has been re-planted. It is a fact that these two companies lack serious intent to establish plantations, even though Indah Kiat has been in operation since 1983 and RAPP since 1994. It becomes even more absurd when these two industries acknowledge that the average age of their plantations is just 6 years.

Since establishment twenty years ago, Indah Kiat has built up to the production level of 2 million tons of pulp each year. RAPP has achieved a similar level of annual production. The two share forest timber from a total 1.8 million hectares of official concessions. More than half is in a zone where conversion is prohibited according to forestry regulations. Two of the four concessions owned by RAPP, for example, are under principle licenses. However, RAPP has carried out logging in these zones despite the fact that the Department of Forestry has yet to issue definitive licenses.

The use of illegally logged timber? These two industries, especially Indah Kiat, are highly skilled. At the end of 2003, it was discovered that one of IKPP affiliates, PT Mapala Rabda, had destroyed natural forests up to 1.3 kilometers from the western boundary of its concession. More than 57,200 m3 were illegally obtained through this practice. At the same year, PT Tuah Sekato carried out illegal logging on 200 hectares of land east of its concession. From this practice, IKPP automatically received 22,000 m3 of “free timber”. Also that year, Arara Abadi carried out illegal logging in Giam Siak Kecil Wildlife Reserve. They provided more than 76,000 m3 of “free timber” to IKPP within a brief time.

The Sinar Mas Group-owned company was also responsible for the destruction of 11,200 hectares of forests in Giam Siak Kecil Wildlife Reserve, which has an area of 55,000 hectares. They then brought the stolen timber through a logpond owned by Arara Abadi so that it appeared to originate from Arara Abadi. Close to Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Province, IKPP was responsible for the destruction of 4,800-6,000 hectares of the TAHURA Minas conservation zone. More than 80% of timber cut illegally in the conservation zone passed through the gates of IKPP while the remainder headed to the Rusna Sawmill in Pekanbaru. IKPP harvested the following timber species from these locations: Meranti, Kempas, Cengel, Merbau, Kulim, Semenai, Cimpur, Rengas and Gaharu (6000 logs). All this timber was taken directly to IKPP using trucks with police plates: BM 9392 AA, BM 9581 AT, BM 9502 AA and BM 9316 AM.

The modus operandi of RAPP was quite different to Indah Kiat. Also shown to have purchased and used illegal timber, this APRIL Group company actually entered areas where conversion was prohibited according to law. Law No. 41/1999 states that only areas with sparse (cleared) forests and barren land can be converted into Industrial Timber Estates. Similarly, Presidential Decree 32/90 and Governmental Regulation 47/97 state that all peat forest areas with a depth of more than three meters are protected from logging and conversion. However, it seems that regulations are merely paper regulations. The majority of APRIL/RAPP concessions are in forest areas with high vegetative density or in peat forest areas that have peat depths of more than three meters.

Sowing Disaster

Starting with the desire to carry out rehabilitation of areas damaged by industrial logging, and to beome a major player in the pulp and paper market, the Indonesian Government established a forestry program called Industrial Timber Estate and Pulp and Paper Industry Development in the early 1980s.

Dozens of regulations giving special rights to companies were soon passed. These facilitated destructive logging practices on the premise that they would ensure the success of the Government Industrial Timber Estate development program. The Government then injected reforestation funds worth hundreds of billions of rupiah into the Industrial Timber Estates. Of the 8 million hectares made available for Industrial Timber Estate development in 2001 that were given to about 175 companies, 5 million hectares were to be planted with the pulp and paper crops, Acacia mangium and Eucalyptus. This shifted Indonesia’s position from being a net pulp importer to being a net pulp exporter. On the other hand, the apparent quantity of Industrial Timber Estates and pulp and paper industry is a utopia that has created a chain of disasters for the environment and community life, economically, socially and politically.

A Chain of Interconnected Problems

Good at Damaging Things, Reluctant to Fix Them

There are no relevant arguments for claiming that the Industrial Timber Estates and pulp and paper industries are efficient or productive industries. From the available official data, only 1.85 million hectares (23.5%) have been planted. Of course, this figure declines when compared with the reality in the field because Industrial Timber Estates are frequently planted in areas where healthy growth is unlikely, for example in peatforests and swamps (for instance, the odds of seedling survival for APP in peat forests in Jambi are 1:3, meaning that for every 3 seedlings planted in the swamp, only 1 is able to grow).

Moreover, conversion of peat forest areas also gives rise to another serious threat. Industrial Timber Estates planted in peat forest areas fragment the area into small rivers (for instance in Riau, 129,000 ha of peat forests have been converted into Acacia plantations and more than 245,000 ha. are destined for the same fate according to Riau Spatial Plan 2001-2015). The objective of this is to facilitate transportation from one region to another as well as to reduce the acidity of the peat forest. These threats to the peat forests are irreversible. Peat soils store a large quantity of moisture, but does not have the capacity to capture or store groundwater. Close to sea level, drained peat soils will become filled with seawater. Industrial Timber Estate companies do not manage their plantations well. In 2002, the Government retracted licenses from several Industrial Timber Estate companies, for reasons ranging from problematic debt, mismanagement, to abuse of Reforestation Funds. Although this has led to legal polemic, it also proves that the performance of Industrial Timber Estate companies is very poor.

Ironically, logged lands are often abandoned by Industrial Timber Estate companies. There are consequently millions of hectares of land in Indonesia that were formerly healthy forests and the basis for livelihoods of customary communities, that have been damaged and destroyed to supply pulp and paper companies. In turn, the environmental functions of these regions have declined. Thus, when environmental pressure increases due to structural environmental destruction either upstream or downstream, natural disasters such as floods, fires and landslides result.

Balancing Raw Materials and Natural Forests

The seven pulp and paper industries in Sumatra and Kalimantan require about 27.7 million cubic meters per year. There are no facts or data showing that these companies avoid wood from natural forests. Up until 2006, more than 78 percent of the wood demand of these mills was supplied by natural forests. This was not merely an imbalance between raw materials and industrial capacity – the scales have come unstuck.

The situation has a foregone conclusion – the pulp and paper industries will continue to fulfill their raw material needs by cutting down natural forests. In March and April 2004, Indonesian national newspapers ran stories in which APP and APRIL declared that they would cease using raw materials from the natural forests in 2007 and 2008. Yet, this year we have witnessed more than 70% of their raw materials still being sourced from natural forests. IKPP argue that their Acacia plants are too immature because they are aged only 1 to 6 years old. After more than 24 years of operation in Riau, this argument is of course absurd.

Building a Pyramid of Social Conflict

The authoritarian system established by administrators to manage the forestry sector has led to a lack of transparency in the system for awarding Industrial Timber Estate concessions, such that this has become full of corruption, collusion and nepotism. Dispensations provided by recent Ministers for Forestry to companies have not passed audits and some occur in peat forest areas in Riau that are categorized as protected.

On a more technical level, the determination of concession zones pays no heed to customary or local community rights, and therefore leads to conflicts that end in social conflict, which proliferate parallel to the development of Industrial Timber Estates and pulp industry. During the 1990-1996 period, more than 5,700 conflicts directly related to Industrial Timber Estates development (source: Department of Forestry, re-processed by LATIN) in all corners of Indonesia. The modus of conflict was dominated by rivalry between communities and companies over rights to land, as well as lack of clarity on the part of the Government itself over the use of Reforestation Funds by companies.

In Porsea, North Sumatra, conflicts between the Porsea community and PT Inti Indorayon Utama (IIU) led to violence against the people by administrators who colluded with businessmen. Hundreds of people were assaulted, some were disabled for life, dozens were imprisoned, and several were killed. In addition, PT IIU ruined the harmony of the Porsea people with the environment. The air around the factory was contaminated by chlorinated smoke that damaged people’s lungs, and community paddy fields became infiltrated by liquid waste from the factory.

Although PT IIU was subsequently closed, the legal chaos and complexity of conflicting political interests resulted in re-opening by a business group under the flag of Radja Garuda Mas. By buying the rhetoric of a new paradigm, new company name (PT Toba Pulp Lestari), and the claim that they would no longer produce rayon but only pulp, President Megawati not only blessed the renewed cranking of the PT TPL machines, but also turned a blind eye to violence by the state agencies (military and police) against the people of Porsea.

APP had another trick for handling their social conflicts, by forming a private security force (a type of militia funded by the company, with members recruited from the surrounding community who had intimidating physical strength). The Mandiangan community in Riau received a taste of just how vicious the physical violence of the private security forces could be when they demanded a resolution to their land conflict with PT IKPP.

RAPP (APRIL) has even used the military and police to resolve their prolonged conflict with local communities over land ownership. In Jambi, PT Lontar Papyrus (PT LPPI) and PT Wira Karya Sakti (PT WKS) succeeded in using their influence to manipulate these conflicts and the implementation of Government regulations. For example, in Parit Pudin village, an area allocated for agricultural land was converted to Industrial Timber Estate by PT WKS.

At this point, the red line is that the pyramid of social conflict due to the presence of pulp industry and Industrial Timber Estate development is not just the ultimate consequence of the chain of Industrial Timber Estate and pulp industry development, but represents a vicious cycle of structural and systematic policies created by companies and Government, and a paradigm of natural resource management and conflict management that positions nature and poor rural communities as the objects of suffering.

The Tangled Thread of Policy

Excessive expectations of the pulp and paper industries’ brilliance has made the Government willing to infringe the rules of its own policies. A licensing system that lacks transparency and favors the interests of companies is still supported by the capital incentive of zero percent interest rates. The case of PT Menara Hutan Buana (PT MHB) in South Kalimantan is a spectacular example. More than 40 billion rupiah in State funds have been lost because of PT MHB’s manipulation of its own Industrial Timber Estate.

Actually, the problem of blocked credit and manipulation of Government Funds has become a general case among Industrial Timber Estate companies. Unfortunately, although cases of manipulation and blocked credit are rife among Industrial Timber Estate companies and pulp industries and have become a bad precedent, the Government has never regarded this as a valuable experience and conducted a comprehensive review of pulp and paper industry and Industrial Timber Estate policies. The Government has instead continued to produce policies that benefits companies.

At the end of 2003, the Government through the Department of Forestry discussed regulations related to Industrial Timber Estates at a Ministerial level. The Decree of the Minister was launched publicly and, ironically, the regulations were thick with special rights and “amnesties” for the Industrial Timber Estate companies. In these regulations, it is stated that an Industrial Timber Estate company can be established without prior evaluation of its suitability, which is the same as ignoring the poor performance record of the Industrial Timber Estates and paving the way for industry pragmatism towards the environment and other socio-economic problems. In addition, Industrial Timber Estate companies that are already well-off or are in critical condition are given the opportunity to change their capital structures by divestment. Through the Government Capital Addenda scheme, this lays public funds on the line because if divestment is carried out through the sale of assets or shares by the Industrial Timber Estate companies to private parties, public funds shift to private ownership.

The Government’s own paradigm of forestry management is still fixated on commercialization. In the section on Land Rehabilitation in the Forestry Strategy Plan, the concept of Industrial Timber Estate development is clearly still depicted as the solution to the problem of land damaged by timber and plantation industry exploitation.

Problems Ending in Structural Disasters

The cycle of pulp and paper industry and Industrial Timber Estate problems exacerbate a problem suffered by the Indonesian people and environment – natural disasters that are becoming more destructive and widespread each day. The slipshod performance of Industrial Timber Estate companies offers up neglected land or plantations that increase emissions of greenhouse gasses. Industrial Timber Estates are planted on peat forest swamps and thus ruin the water and mud sedimentation cycle, and the canal system is not organized well. In Jambi, the Mendahara Ulu people now number among those who “enjoy” floods because the downstream mangrove forests have been cut down by Industrial Timber Estate companies.

In Riau, 2003 began with severe floods that continued for almost a month. These destroyed all in their path and caused losses of Rp. 764 billion, which is equivalent to 64% of the Riau 2002 regional budget. The analysis of WALHI Riau showed how the quantity of upstream forest conversion was the main factor in the loss of soil anchoring strength. After the floods, forest fires burnt out more than 245,000 ha in no more than 23 days. Of the 54 companies that carried out burning (Bapedalda Riau, 2003), 32 were recorded as being in Industrial Forest Estate plantations.

Disasters, whether they be floods, landslides, fire and smoke, are not the culmination of natural processes, but are more the product of an exploitative environmental management system, with policies that prioritize economic rent and disregard aspects of environmental sustainability and conservation. Clearly, this is a structural disaster, a disaster that is created by a handful of policy entities, superstructure and the corrupt behavior of the State apparatus. The problems of the pulp and paper industry and Industrial Timber Estates must therefore be viewed with an understanding of non-forestry sector domains, both those essentially related and those which have no apparent direct relation to forestry problems.(Walhi)