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Central Kalimantan is notorious for illegal logging, and the power and violence of the timber mafia.
“To try and find out what the Vietnamese boat was doing a spotter plane was hired to fly up the river, find out what was going on and to gather evidence. The plane found the Ha Tinh, hatches open, docked at a yard full of squared off logs, which are illegal for export” said Andrew our web editor on board the Rainbow Warrior.
This is in direct contravention of an Indonesian Ministerial Decree. We sent the photographic evidence taken from the plane to the Minister of Forests, who urged the navy to intervene. This action resulted in today's win as there was soon an Indonesian navel ship in the area.
“With a patrol ship in tow - the Rainbow Warrior returned to Kumai Bay, we launched our boats, radioed the Ha Tinh, began driving in circles around the freighter and generally raised a ruckus," explains Andrew.
"What followed was a conversation between the navy ship and the Ha Tinh. At this point we backed the Rainbow Warrior off. The navy boarded the Ha Tinh, and later ordered them out of Indonesian waters. One freighter sent home empty won't save Indonesia's forests, but today did show that it is possible to stop the timber mafia."
Currently Indonesia and Vietnam have no bilateral agreement in order to combat the illegal timber trade. Options are available to them to open up and conclude an agreement under the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance process.
The extent of the illegal logging in this region is massive. We are calling on the international community and their law enforcement agencies, to swiftly make inroads to end the destruction. In particular the Indonesian regional police need to enforce the law of Indonesia.
“To try and find out what the Vietnamese boat was doing a spotter plane was hired to fly up the river, find out what was going on and to gather evidence. The plane found the Ha Tinh, hatches open, docked at a yard full of squared off logs, which are illegal for export” said Andrew our web editor on board the Rainbow Warrior.
This is in direct contravention of an Indonesian Ministerial Decree. We sent the photographic evidence taken from the plane to the Minister of Forests, who urged the navy to intervene. This action resulted in today's win as there was soon an Indonesian navel ship in the area.
“With a patrol ship in tow - the Rainbow Warrior returned to Kumai Bay, we launched our boats, radioed the Ha Tinh, began driving in circles around the freighter and generally raised a ruckus," explains Andrew.
"What followed was a conversation between the navy ship and the Ha Tinh. At this point we backed the Rainbow Warrior off. The navy boarded the Ha Tinh, and later ordered them out of Indonesian waters. One freighter sent home empty won't save Indonesia's forests, but today did show that it is possible to stop the timber mafia."
Currently Indonesia and Vietnam have no bilateral agreement in order to combat the illegal timber trade. Options are available to them to open up and conclude an agreement under the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance process.
The extent of the illegal logging in this region is massive. We are calling on the international community and their law enforcement agencies, to swiftly make inroads to end the destruction. In particular the Indonesian regional police need to enforce the law of Indonesia.
