Letter: On 'Forest stewardship'

Fri, 07/18/2008 11:17 AM | Reader's Forum

This is a comment on an article, titled "Forest stewardship: sticks or carrots?" (The Jakarta Post, July 9).

Once upon a time, a university lecturer cum Ph.D. student would challenge -- and even change -- the perceptions of students and mankind. Once upon a time, (s)he would ensure objective and diligent fact-finding.

Is this populist and simplistic article a sign of the times? Alas, I fear for the next generation of academics (and forest managers) being molded at Gadjah Mada University.

Sadly, one doesn't have to move from one's comfy chair to prove the article wrong, except to move to an Internet connection. The online database of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) identifies seven Indonesian forest managers as certified, while the website of another initiative -- the Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (LEI) -- refers to 12 certified managers.

To the casual observer, this may seem a meager result for two decades of hard work by many dedicated organizations. However, looks can be deceiving.

Having worked almost a decade with forest managers and various initiatives to promote responsible forest management, I can assure you that, in this case, looks are indeed deceiving.

Anybody versed in the issue of forest management certification can provide a detailed account of the political and institutional hurdles involved in the implementation of "green labeling".

Key issues are knowledge of responsible forest management and application of such knowledge in the forest. Suggesting a strong regulatory approach (a system-based solution) for these (performance-based) issues is simplistic and misleading.

The experts agree that substantial progress has been made. The proof of this progress is -- again -- only a mouse-click away. Anybody can compile a lengthy list of forest managers that are pursuing certification, simply by visiting the websites of the Indonesian Forest & Trade Network, the Tropical Forest Foundation and the Tropical Forest Trust.

And the experts are well aware of a bold, new program to assist companies in Kalimantan that want to pursue forest management certification: the Borneo Initiative.

Perhaps the author of the article would care to leave his ivory Ph.D. tower and put his feet on the (forest) floor? I warmly invite him to challenge his own perceptions and myths during my next surveillance of a forest company.