[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

The Nation: Editorial & Opinion



Editorial & Opinion 

POLITICAL VIEW/Heads must roll like Salween illegal logs

BY SOPON ONKGARA 

Feb. 17, 1998
The Nation

There are two cases of logging currently eliciting about the same degree of
controversy. The first one concerns the ongoing tree-felling to clear the
way for the Yadana gas pipeline project through the forest in Kanchanaburi.
The second one involves the illegal logging in Salween National Park which,
like elsewhere, has been going on for quite sometime. 

The tree-cutting in Kanchanaburi, including the strip marked for the gas
pipeline, has been opposed by environmentalists and NGOs arguing for the
need to conserve what remains of the nation's fast dwindling forests. 

Though the two cases are unrelated, there is a similarity in that big trees
are being felled for commercial purposes. The Salween illegal log-cutting
benefits just a handful of timber merchants and corrupt government
officials who let the devastation continue in return for graft money. 

The negative consequences are irreparable and the plundered resources are
irreplaceable. Reforestation takes many years but the environment will
never be restored to its previous state. 

But there are big differences too. The gas pipeline project is aimed at
ensuring a sufficient supply of energy for the country as consumption will
certainly increase in the coming years. It is based on an argument of
conserving what the country has, and being ready for a possible deprivation
of energy sources in case of sudden supply shortages due to crises or other
causes. 

The Petroleum Authority of Thailand has been actively funding reforestation
projects in the North and other areas. It is a legitimate business and the
project has the government's stamp of approval. The conservationists must
propose viable choices so that their cause does not go against the demands
of reality and facts of life. 

These groups have resorted to every method possible to obstruct the
project, even camping out to prevent the flow of work. At times, there was
almost a direct confrontation with local villagers who support the project,
regardless that they were paid to do so, or otherwise. 

It's time for the conservationists, environmentalists and their friends
among the NGOs to become more active. That means they should protect what
is left in other forests as well. 

For example, there is much that is fishy and shady about the Salween
illegal logging. Common sense tells us that it is impossible for the log
cutters to chop down tens of thousand of trees over the years without
detection. 

Log rolling and stacking are not not noiseless activities like crochet
knitting. Logs are not as small as needles and sawmills are not as small as
dog houses. The whole process requires equipment, illegal wood processing,
vehicle and elephant trails, and crews backed by big-money merchants who in
turn are protected by corrupt officials. 

Surely, looking for logs is not as difficult as searching for needles in a
haystack. The Forestry Department has been in existence almost as long as
the forests, but forest cover has shrunk to than 15 per cent of the
country's area. 

Illegal log-cutting has been going on nationwide despite the closure of teh
forests 10 years ago. What have forestry officials and their counterparts
in law enforcement agencies been doing throughout this past decade? 

The Forestry Department has been accused of incompetence and
ineffectiveness as its provincial units are highly vulnerable to the colour
of money. It is time for somebody else to participate in the ongoing forest
conservation. 

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai has, almost belatedly, instructed a joint team
of military and police forces to conduct surveillance by air over the
Salween National Park after a Bt5 million sum of cash, believed to be a
kickback, was dropped at Government House by the department's deputy
director general who got the amount from an undisclosed source. 

As defence minister Chuan is right in instructing the military to guard the
forest. It's national interest no matter how one wants to look at the
issue. This is peacetime and soldiers must be deployed to good use. They
can do more as well in protecting the country's border with Burma where
ethnic guerrillas, drug lords and all sorts of miscreants have been roaming
quite freely. 

This is time to ruffle some feathers. Many influential elements, in
government uniform and in politics, have been reaping fortunes from the
illegal commercial activities along the border for decades. It is not
beyond common sense, again, to stem the forest encroachment and tree
felling through simple means but with firm hands. 

Sawmills along the border must be demolished. Their number must be reduced
as much as possible. Confiscation of assets of the culprits has to be
enforced strictly with harsh penalties. Chuan must ensure that the new
suppression drive must also prevent further palm greasing among the forces
assigned the task as well. 

It's quite disappointing to hear Chuan say that he would not order an
investigation into previous illegal activities but would prevent further
forest destruction. What the public wants is that the heads of those
culprits should roll like logs as the new Constitution ensures that nobody
is above the law. The punishment must be a deterrence. 

At the same time, the alliance of protesters against the gas pipeline
project can fulfil their cause and do a lot of good if they can provide
help to the government. As nature lovers, they can camp out in the rich
Salween jungle and scout around for the illegal logging and preserve the
forests for future generations as well.