T

he management of Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL) complained on Thursday of the increasing prevalence of illegal loggers armed with weapons such as knives, arrows and air rifles confronting forest rangers.

'€œFrankly speaking our men are not brave enough to enter the TNGL area without police or military escort,'€ TNGL head Andi Basrul told The Jakarta Post.

Andi said many of his men had been wounded by illegal loggers as they tried to stop illegal logging activities in the national park that straddles the border of North Sumatra and Aceh provinces.

In North Sumatra, illegal logging activities have been reported in Barak Induk, Barak Kentongan, Sekoci, Damar Hitam and Lapangan Tembak, all in Langkat regency. In Aceh, similar activities can be found in Trenggulin, Aceh Tamiang regency.

Andi added that in those spots, illegal loggers were frequently armed with air rifles and rangers were not brave enough to enter.

He also said that the national park management wanted to avoid a harsh crackdown on illegal loggers over fears of being accused of violating human rights.

As a result, his office is monitoring the development of illegal logging activities in the area from outside TNGL.

'€œWe are constantly examining vehicles coming out of the area. The move is relatively effective as many perpetrators have been arrested for transporting illegal logs from Leuser region,'€ Andi said, adding that illegal loggers were becoming increasingly resourceful in their tactics to transport illegal timber through the region.

According to Forestry Ministry data, in 1997 TNGL covered an area of 1,095,592 hectares. By 2014, however, the area had decreased to 800,000 ha.

Of the remaining area, according to data at the directorate general of forestry and environment law enforcement, 40,000 ha have been felled or damaged by illegal loggers, 30,000 of which were in Langkat regency.

Andi said that eight suspects have been arrested for transporting illegal logs from TNGL over the last two months. The latest arrest was made in Bahorok district, Langkat, last week.

'€œWe seized four tons of illegal logs from perpetrators last week. They planned to transport and process the logs in Medan,'€ said Andi, adding that resin and meranti were found among the seized logs.

He said four illegal logging cases would be filed this year, adding that the number of cases relating to increase every year. Thirty cases went to trial in 2015, he said, while the previous year had seen only 20 cases.

Head of TNGL'€™s Langkat region management, Sapto Aji Prabowo, said that the seized logs belonged to businessman Alung of Tanjung Lenggang, Bahorok district. '€œThe case is being developed so that it can be processed further in accordance with the prevailing laws.'€

The Wildlife Conservation Society recorded that from 2000 to 2009, the park, which in 2004 was established by UNESCO as a tropical rainforest heritage site, lost 18,839 ha, mainly as a result of rampant illegal logging.