Corrupt Indonesian Military Closely Tied to Illegal Logging, Study Says

All levels of the Indonesian military are deeply involved in the massive illegal logging that is turning vast tracts of virgin rainforest into palm oil plantations, according to a new study. The Center for East Asia Cooperation Studies at the University of Indonesia investigated the logging industry from 1999 to 2006 in East Kalimantan, in the Indonesian sector of Borneo. The center found that high-ranking military officers took bribes for arranging permits from the forestry industry, received kickbacks from subordinates involved in illegal logging, invested directly in logging companies, and established close ties with organized crime figures involved in illegal logging. The study also found that lower-ranking soldiers and officers turned a blind eye to the illegal felling and transportation of trees. Conservationists say that tropical forests in East Kalimantan are being stripped for timber and palm oil faster than anywhere else in the world. Worldwide, destruction of tropical forests is responsible for about 20 percent of global carbon emissions. As Indonesia prepares to ask for billions of dollars in payments from the industrialized world in exchange for not cutting down some of its forests, conservationists warn that widespread corruption could undermine such programs.