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Central Kalimantan illegal loggers become coconut sugar farmers
Villagers in Basawang commonly work as coconut sugar farmers, while villagers of the surrounding area in Katingan regency and East Kotawaringin regency make a living by selling green coconut, copra (dried coconut meat) or by illegal logging.
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Mist hangs over the rainforest of Central Kalimantan — a source of clean air, regulator of climate and home to thousands of plant and animal species, including the critically endangered Bornean orangutan. (Greenpeace via Björn Vaughn/Ulet Ifansasti)
Aliannur has been an illegal logger for 20 years.
Should he be caught red-handed by a local security officers, the 36-year-old from Satiruk village on Hanaut Island, East Kotawaringin regency, Central Kalimantan, would bid Rp 500,000 (US$35) so that the officer would not arrest him. The bribe accounted for more than 30 percent of his total funds to perform his work.
"Because I have a family to provide for," he told The Jakarta Post during a visit to a coconut sugar-producing village with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and UN-REDD Programme.
Combing the peat swamp forest for 20 days with a ration pack and Rp 1.6 million in cash, Aliannur would complete his exploration in the forest by selling 2 cubic meters of timber worth Rp 2.4 million. Therefore, he earned around Rp 800,000, if not caught red-handed.
Aliannur said he would go into the forest if a neighbor or someone personally requested his help for logging. When not working in the forest, he would stay at home.
He said he had been caught red-handed six times his entire career.
The father of one felt the money he earned was "not really worth it", but he found a way out when a neighbor encouraged him to attend a training course to produce coconut sugar in Basawang village, located across the river.
