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BKK POST:Seeing the wood for the t



February 19, 1998


                                     



                          Dateline Bangkok


              Seeing the wood
              for the trees

              The Salween logging problem is complex. But one thing is clear:
              the government agencies concerned are not strong and efficient
              enough to deal with influential people behind the illegal logging
              business. If nothing is done, all our forests may one day become
              deserts.

              Small-time loggers are arrested from time to time and news of
              their arrests is reported by newspapers along with pictures of
              seized logs and log-cutting equipment. But this is hardly an
              encouraging sign. In fact, the arrests * epitomise the
              government's failure to protect national forests.

              The seized logs are clear evidence that our forests are fast
              disappearing. They are destroyed by people who do not care
              about the future of the country and its people. It will take 60-70
              years to replenish the pristine forests that have been destroyed.

              Lax law enforcement provides a loophole for businessmen
              behind the illegal logging operations to acquire the illegal logs
              through legal channels. The loophole is the law that allows the
              Forestry Industry Organisation to auction off seized logs, which
              eventually fall into the hands of the businessmen who funded the
              illegal operations in the first place.

              There are various government agencies in charge of preventing
              and suppressing illegal logging, but the Forestry Department is at
              the core. The future of our forests is in the hands of forestry
              officials.

              Strangely enough, the Forestry Department has never improved
              its administrative structure to deal effectively with the logging
              problem. On the contrary, the appointment of provincial forestry
              chiefs is rife with accusations about bribery. Some forestry
              officials are allegedly under the pay of logging financiers.

              It is high time that the Forestry Department reformed itself by
              adopting a merit system. Corrupt officials must be sternly
              punished to set an example for others. A reform of the Forestry
              Department is a great challenge for the agriculture minister, his
              permanent secretary and the director-general of the department.

              - Editorial from Matichon 




                                     




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Last Modified: Thu, Feb 19, 1998