Corruption Fuels Epidemic of Illegal Logging in Indonesia According to World Resources Institute

2/12/2002

From: Adlai J. Amor of the World Resources Institute, 202-729-7736; e-mail: aamor@wri.org

News Advisory:

What: Media briefing on the new report, "The State of the Forest: Indonesia"

Advance copies of the report are available at: http://www.dooleyonline.net/media(underscore)preview/index.cfm

When: Wednesday, Feb. 20 from 9-11 a.m. Continental breakfast will be served.

Where: World Resources Institute 10 G. St., NE (8th Floor), Washington D.C. 20002 (Between N. Capitol and First St., N.E. Metro: Union Station)

Who: -- Emily Matthews, lead author -- Dr. Charles Victor Barber, lead author -- Dirk Bryant, director, Global Forest Watch

Why: The "State of the Forest: Indonesia" is the first comprehensive map-based assessment of the forests of Indonesia. It provides a detailed analysis of the scale and pace of change affecting Indonesia's forests.

The picture that emerges is grim:

-- Indonesia is experiencing one of the highest rates of tropical forest loss in the world. It is losing nearly 2 million hectares of forest annually. If current trends continue, the lowland forests of Sumatra and Kalimantan will disappear by 2010.

-- Illegal logging has reached epidemic proportions. The country's demand for wood fiber now exceeds legal supplies by 35 to 40 million cubic meters annually. An estimated 65 percent of it comes from illegal sources.

-- Deforestation is largely the result of a corrupt political and economic system that regards natural resources as a source of revenue to be exploited for political and personal gains.

Indonesia is home to the largest area of contiguous tropical forest in Asia, and the third largest in the world.

The report is published by Global Forest Watch, an initiative of the World Resources Institute, and its partner, Forest Watch Indonesia. FWI will be launching the report on the same day in Jakarta, Indonesia.

--- The World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org/wri) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to provide practical ways to protect the earth and improve people's lives.