Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia

OVERVIEW OF FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Prepared by

Rusli Mohd Amat Ramsa Yaman

March 2001

Highlights of this report were presented at a workshop on Illegal Logging in East Asia,

Sponsored by World Bank - WWF Alliance* in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 27-28, 2000

WWF MALAYSIA Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank to the Director General of Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia and his staffs for their support and comments to this report. Table of Contents

Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………. ii Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………………... iii Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………………....iV

PART 1 INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………...... 1 Background …………………………………………………………………...... 1 Constitutional Setting …………………………………………………………...... 1 Forestry Administration ...……………………………………………………...... 1 Timber Harvesting Rights ...…………………………………………………...... 2 Forests and Wood-based Industries in Peninsular Malaysia ………………...... 2 Status of Forested Area and Log Flow in Peninsular Malaysia ……...... 2 Constribution of the Wood-based Industry to the Economy ..………...... 3

PART 2 PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………....5

PART 3 PREVENTION STRATEGIES ……………………………………………………….... 6 Legal Strategies ………………………………………………………………...... 6 Forest Policy and Long Term Plan ……………………………………………...... 6 Forest Management Plan ………………………………………………………...... 7 Forest Manual of Peninsular Malaysia 1953 (Revision 1995) ……………...... 7 Malaysia Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management ……...... 7 Professional on In-service Training …………………………………………...... 8 Public Education ……………………………………………………………...... 8 PART 4 DETECTION OF FORESTRY OFFENCES ……………………………………….....9 Role of the Forestry Department and Other Stakeholders ………………...... 9 Occurrence of Forest Offences ……………………………………………...... 9 Incidence of Illegal Logging …………………………………………………...... 9 Organization for Forest Offences …………………………………………...... 10 Impacts of Forest Offences …………………………………………………...... 11

PART 5 SUPPRESSION STRATEGIES ……………………………………………………...... 12 Government’s Response System to Information on Forest Crimes ……...... 12 Outcomes of Suppression Activities ………………………………………...... 12 Illegal Logging and Criminal Justice System ……………………………...... 12

PART 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ……………………………………...... 14 Recommendations …………………………………………………………...... 15 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………...... 15

Reference …………………………………………………………………………………………. 17 Executive Summary

The main objective of this report is to discuss with other government agencies, including the the forest law enforcement system in Peninsular police and the army, in their enforcement Malaysia. It focuses mainly on the roles played operations. by the State Forestry Department, supported by other government agencies and the public, in the Partly due to the strategies mentioned above, prevention, detection and suppression of forest the incidence of forest crimes over the last crimes. Some data on the incidence of forest several years shows a declining trend. The crimes are presented to highlight the trends in average number of illegal logging cases dropped the extent of the problem over the past several from 223 for the period 1987 - 1993 to about 28 years. for the 1994 - 1999 period. There were only four reported cases of forest encroachment in 1999. Forest law enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia Higher number of forest offenses was reported is a highly decentralized activity. According to in the rich forest states of the east coast of the Constitution, forest is a state matter and the Peninsular Malaysia than in the other states. No State governments are responsible for forest evidence has been shown to indicate that illegal policy formulation and implementation, including logging is an organized crime in Peninsular forest law enforcement. The role of the federal Malaysia. forestry department is very much advisory in nature in the sense that it gives forestry technical In spite of the decline in the occurrence of forest advice to the State governments. Each of the offenses, the authorities should institute other State Forestry Departments has a forest law measures to deter forest offenders, possibly to enforcement unit that serves as the nucleus for stop them from committing similar offenses in activities related to the prevention, detection and the future. In particular the authorities should: suppression of forest crimes. The Unit is responsible for inspecting logging activities, • implement the forest law fully and effectively. checking logging licenses, inspecting mill Illegal loggers should be punished more premises, monitoring forest produce in transit severely in accordance with the provisions and investigating public complaints. Officers in of the law. the District Forest Office help in daily forest enforcement activities. • provide more resources for forest law enforcement, particularly funds, trained and In Peninsular Malaysia, offenses such as illegal committed manpower logging and forest encroachment are treated seriously by the law. The maximum • educate forest communities, private timber punishments for such offenses are quite severe. companies and policy-makers on the In addition to heavy penalties, the authority have importance of forestry and forest law instituted other measures to curb the problems enforcement and these include conducting spot checks, helicopter surveillance, regular training programs • promote programs that would provide for their officers to equip them with the necessary opportunities for rural communities to earn knowledge and skills on forest law enforcement, income from sources other than the forest and running public awareness campaigns. lands Realizing the significance of the problems and the need for combined efforts in eliminating them, • review timber pricing policies that encourage the Forestry Departments often work together the occurrence of forest offenses. Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia PART 1 INTRODUCTION

Background Constitutional Setting Forest offenses are essentially the acts, or their Under the provision of Article 74 Clause (2) of omission, which contravene the provisions of the the Malaysian Constitution, land and forest are forest laws of the country. Some of these defined as state matters and are thus within the offenses, such as illegal logging and forest jurisdiction of the respective State Governments. encroachment, present serious obstacles in the Clause (3) of Article 76 of the Malaysian achievement of sustainable forest management. Constitution ensures that all Acts related to land Illegal logging, which involves the felling of trees and forest shall not come into force in a State and/or removal of timber from the forest without unless it has been adopted by a law made by a valid licence, deprives the government of the legislature of the State. As such each State revenue from charges imposed on the timber. is empowered to enact laws on forestry and to The main aim of illegal logging is to take timber formulate forest policy independently. The out from the forest without paying its due charges executive authority of the Federal Government to the government. In addition, illegal logging only extends to the provision of advice and can be very disastrous to the forest and its technical assistance to the States, training and environment, as the activity is not under the the conduct of research, and in the maintenance control and supervision of the forest authority. of experimental and demonstration stations. Rampant illegal logging activities could also Forestry Administration upset the planning for sustainable harvest particularly if it involves large tracts of forest area. Forestry administration in Peninsular Malaysia Forest encroachment, is another category of acts can be divided into three levels, namely the or activities prohibited which also contribute to Federal, State and district levels. Each state of the destruction of flora and fauna and such the peninsula, with the exception of Malacca, has activities include clearing or breaking up any land its own forestry department headed by the State for cultivation or any other non-forest purposes. Director of Forestry who is responsible to the Chief Minister of the state. At the state level, the State Director of Forestry is usually assisted by As in many other countries, forest offenses are two Deputy Directors (Forest Development and not new problems in Malaysia. Studies done by Forest Operation) and other officers, namely Subramaniam ( 1994), Litinggah (1997) and Forest Management Officer and Silvicultural Shahrum (1998) showed that these forest Officer. The District Forest Officer assisted by offenses had repeatedly been occurring during a deputy and several uniform field staffs’ heads the last few decades. Therefore, it is not forestry administration at the district level. The surprising that the government introduced higher District Forest Officers report directly to the State penalties for such offenses through the Director of Forestry. The state forestry amendments made in the National Forestry Act department is responsible for the implementation of 1984. In spite of the introduction of higher of the forest policies of the state, including forest penalties, forest offenses still continue to take law enforcement. Forest law enforcement is the place and this shows that increasing the responsibility of the district office with the advice punishment is only one of the factors influencing of the state forestry office. the occurrence of forest offenses. A complex relationship of many factors influences the At the Federal level, the Director General who is occurrence of forest offenses. answerable to the Federal Minister of Primary Industry heads the administration. He is assisted This part of the report briefly describes the by two deputies and several directors. The main forestry sector of Peninsular Malaysia with the responsibility of the federal forestry department main purpose of giving the context against which is to give technical advice to the state forestry the rest of the report is based. The constitutional departments as well as policy advice to the setting will be first described followed by federal government. Professional and sub- discussions on forestry administration, the status professional foresters are appointed by the of forest resource and the role of the wood-based federal government and seconded to the state industries in Malaysian economy. governments. Rusli Mohd and Amat Ramsa Yaman 2

Table 1: Forested Area in Peninsular Malaysia, 1996 Sdtate Permanent Reserve Other Forested Area* Total forested area Forest (ha) (ha) (ha) Johore 3925,873 828,61 414,40 K2edah 3442,60 46,11 346,71 K2elantan 6926,37 2167,88 894,27 M9elaka 70,30 19,20 8,50 N1egeri Sembilan 1569,08 165,17 184,25 P1ahang 14,394,99 5563,45 1,958,44 P4erak 9295,80 762,37 1,068,17 P9erlis 160,25 15,14 11,40 P6ulau Pinang 68,40 844 7,25 Selangor 2947,765 141,11 258,88 T1erengganu 5757,66 1810,50 668,16 W1ilayah Persekutuan 6016 T4otal 43,684,09 17,136,45 5,820,54 ∗ Stateland forests and Wildlife Reserves Source: Forestry Department of P. Malaysia, 1998

In order to facilitate the adoption in a coordinated development cess. Premium is a charge levied and common approach to forestry, the National for the occupation of area and privilege of Forestry Council (NFC) comprising the Chief harvesting the forest from a specific area granted Ministers of all the thirteen (13) Malaysian States under a license and the rate varies from State to and Ministers of the relevant federal ministries, State. Royalty is a charge levied by all States chaired by the Deputy Minister, was established based on the unit of produce actually removed on 20 December 1971 by the National Land from the forest. The forest development cess is Council (NLC). The NFC serves as a forum for an additional charge levied on timber removed the Federal and the State Governments to and paid into the Forest Development Fund in discuss and resolve common problems and the respective State of Peninsular Malaysia for issues relating to forestry policy, administration silvicultural and forest management purposes. and management. All the decisions of the NFC have to be endorsed by the NLC. The Forests and Wood-based Industries in responsibility for implementing the decisions of Peninsular Malaysia the NFC lies with the respective State Forests still form a dominant physical landscape Governments unless it is within the authority of of Peninsular Malaysia and the wood-based the Federal Government. industries have played a significant role in the Timber Harvesting Rights socio-economic development of the country. In addition to providing timber for the manufacture In Malaysia, logging and associated activities are and export of many products, forests have under the control of the respective State Forestry assumed an increasing role in providing Departments through the District Forest Offices. recreation opportunities for the people as well Logging areas are awarded to logging as contribute towards foreign exchange earnings companies under licenses issued in accordance through tourism related activities. with the National Forestry Act 1984, Rules and Regulations. Permission to take forest produce Status of Forested Area and Log Flow in from a permanent reserved forest or State land Peninsular Malaysia by way of license or minor license may be Table 1 shows the status of forested areas in granted by the State Authority through the Peninsular Malaysia in 1996. In 1996, the total process of invited tenders, negotiated agreement forested area in Peninsular Malaysia was about or such other manner or process as it may deem 5.8 million hectares and this represents about fit in the circumstances of any particular case. 44 percent of the total land area of the peninsula. In return for getting the timber harvesting rights, Slightly more than 81 percent of the forests are the logging operators or contractors are required classified as reserved forests and these are to pay certain fees or charges. These forest areas dedicated permanently for production, charges are levied by the State Government for protection and amenity purposes. Of all the the removal of forest produce. There are states, Pahang, Perak and Kelantan are the basically three major forms of forest charges, three states with the biggest forest areas namely, premium, royalty and forest accounting for more than 65 percent of the total 3 Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia

Table 2: Log Flow in Peninsular Malaysia, 1994 -1998 Year 15994 1699 1799 1899 1L99 TOTA L2og productions 121,389,33 92,029,85 83,418,99 70,415,45 54,126,37 41,318,41 L5og Imports 2164,34 5458,25 4463,96 4796,83 4196,21 2,269,61 T7OTAL 131,653,67 96,588,10 87,882,95 77,902,28 55,622,58 43,588,02 L4og consumption 98,196,18 130,046,49 93,173,68 95,172,92 53,532,67 43,121,96 B3alance +/- 25,457,49 -7458,39 -6290,72 -21,270,63 829,91 466,06 Source: Forestry Department, P. Malaysia, various years forest area in the peninsula. stantial difference between the volumes of log produced and consumed. Data also show that The three major forest types found in Peninsu- Peninsular Malaysia has begun importing log on lar Malaysia are inland forest, mangrove forest a small scale. and peatswamp forest. Of the three forest types, inland forest accounts for more than 92 percent According to available information, species of the total area. Very little of the lowland forest within the Medium Hardwood Category are the is still left in the country and timber harvesting ones, which are logged the most. Some of the operation is now concentrated in the hill forests. major species logged are Kedondong, Red This type of forest is dominated by tree species Meranti, Kelat, Keruing, Kempas and Medang. belonging to the dipterocarpaceae family. Rubberwood accounts for quite a significant pro- portion of the total log production and it is mainly Table 2 shows the log flow situation in Peninsular used for the manufacture of furniture. Malaysia for the period 1994 to 1998. Contributions of the Wood-based Industry Total log production from Peninsular Malaysia, to the Economy at least for the 1994-1998 period, averaged to about 8.7 million cubic meters per year and The importance of the wood-based industry can annual log production is declining. The major be seen from its contribution towards foreign log producers are the East Coast states of exchange earnings, which in 1999 amounted to, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu. Average log about RM 17 billion. These amount forms nearly consumption amounted to about 8.6 million cubic 25 percent of the total foreign exchange earnings meters per annum. Therefore, there is no sub- generated in that year. In terms of export

Table 3: Number of Wood Processing Mills in Peninsular Malaysia, 1997 Trype of mills Numbe Sawmill 711 P0lywood/Veneer 5 M1oulding 14 P4articleboard P0ulp and Paper F0urniture & Carpentry 2,62 B2lockboard 1 L4aminated Board 3 Cement board 4 W1oodchip P6arquet 2 P0refabricated House 1 M4atches P3encil K2iln Drying 12 P8reservation 11 M7DF T7otal 3,86 Source: Forestry Department of P. Malaysia, 1998 Rusli Mohd and Amat Ramsa Yaman 4 earnings, plywood industry comes first, by moulding at 141 and plywood/veneer at 50. followedby sawntimber, furniture, panel products and moulding industries. The wood-based in- The three main processing mills consume about dustries taken together generated direct employ- 70 percent of the total log production from the ment opportunities to about 250,000 people. forests of Peninsular Malaysia. The sawmilling industry, in particular, consumes more than 80 The wood-based industry in Peninsular Malay- percent of the total log consumption of the three sia has been dominated by three main process- types of mills. ing activities, namely sawmilling, plywood and veneer production. In 1997, the number of wood In 1997, the reconstituted panel products processing mills in Peninsular Malaysia was industry comprises 12 blockboard plants, 11 3,867 and out of these more than 2500 are fur- particleboard/chipboard plants, 9 MDF plants and niture mills, the majority of which are small- 6 wood-cement board plants. Of these, the MDF scaled family owned backyard mills (Table 3). plants had registered the highest growth and Only about 500 of the furniture plants are export most of the mills are capital intensive and oriented. The next biggest number of mills is equipped with the latest technology to optimize the sawmill that stood at more than 700, followed raw material utilization. 5 Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia

PART 2 PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY

The main objective of this report would be to have been done to describe the extent of the discuss the system that exists in Peninsular problem and identify factors underlying it. Such Malaysia that handles and manages the problem studies do highlight some aspects of forest law of forest offenses, in general, and illegal logging, enforcement in the states. in particular. In so doing, the report highlights Information and data for this report are gathered the roles played by the Forestry Department, from two main sources. The first source is the other government agencies, and the public to relevant personnel in the Forestry Department prevent, detect and suppress the occurrence and the second is the various publications and of forest offenses. It also describes the reports on policies and procedures related to mechanisms and procedures that have been forest law enforcement as well as on the instituted by the Forestry Department, in incidence of forest offenses. Brief interviews particular, to handle the problem of forest were made with experienced enforcement offenses. officers in order to gain better understanding of The report will also present some data to highlight the law enforcement process and to identify the extent and occurrence of forest offenses, factors influencing forest offenses. Due to the particularly illegal logging. To date, no specific confidentiality of some information, the individuals case study has been made on illegal logging, interviewed would prefer to remain anonymous. although as mentioned earlier, a few studies Rusli Mohd and Amat Ramsa Yaman 6

PART 3 PREVENTION STRATEGIES

v) To make general amendments in the Prevention strategies are measures taken by the national language text, change of name government, particularly the forest authority, to in the national language text and sub- reduce or even eliminate the occurrence of forest stitute sections 5, 69, 101 and 104 offenses. These measures can include those that are aimed at deterring likely offenders, In order to ensure that the amendments are fully strengthening policy and its implementation, and understood by the enforcement officers in the educating the public on the importance of forestry states, the Federal Forestry Department and forest law implementation. In Peninsular prepared and circulated a report that clearly Malaysia, higher penalties were introduced in the explained the various changes made in the law. forest law in 1993. Consequently, the forestry Members of the public also have access to the authority emphasizes the importance of law original law and its Revised Version because they enforcement in policy and planning documents, are sold in bookstores. The details of the various conducts training programs for its staffs and amendments are shown in Appendix 1 carries out campaign programs for the public. Forest Policy and Long Term Plan Legal Strategies The National Forest Policy for Peninsular The key measure taken by the Government to Malaysia of 1978 was revised in 1992 to prevent forest crime was by amending the incorporate several new elements, one of which National Forestry Act, 1984 to incorporate new is on the importance of forest law enforcement. provisions to deter the occurrence of forest In this revised policy statements, it was offenses. The Act was enacted to update and emphasized that the State Governments through harmonize forest law in the Peninsula. Prior to their respective State Director Forestry must the Act, the various State governments depend judicially implement the National Forest Act 1984 on the State Forest Enactment’s, which were (Revised 1993) to ensure sustainable forest formulated in 1930’s, for legal guidelines on resource management and conservation. forest management and conservation. The Act The importance of forest law is also also enables the effective implementation of the acknowledged in the country’s five-year National Forestry Policy passed in 1978. It was economic development plan. In the Seventh amended in 1993 to further strengthen its Malaysia Plan (1996 - 2000), for example, it was provisions to curb illegal encroachment of forests stated that the National Forestry Act, 1984 was and theft of timber. The Act has been adopted amended for the main purpose of enhancing the by all the states in Peninsular Malaysia. effectiveness of forestry enforcement. Sections The main objectives of amending the Act are as 19-26 of the Plan on Forest Resources read as follows: follows: i) To increase the penalties and tighten the “To enhance the effectiveness procedures in compounding forest in forestry enforcement, the offences NFA 1984 was amended in ii) To transfer burden of proof from the 1993, and steps were taken to prosecutor to the defense in the court institute the preparation of EIA iii) To delegate power in writing by State to protect the forest Director of Forestry under section 88, 89, environment and biodiversity, in 90, 92 or 93 to any member of the armed particular the logging of natural forces not below the rank of Lance resources. Reduced Impact Corporal as empowered to the police but Logging (RIL) was encouraged, shall not include the power of and helicopter logging was investigation carried out in Sarawak”. iv) To add new sections 100A and 100B for In response to the call for more effective forest rewards and protection of informers law enforcement, all the states in Peninsular respectively, section 101A for power of Malaysia incorporate activities that prevent forest court to order revocation and crime through demarcation of external forest disqualification, section 110A for boundaries and capacity building in their long offenses committed by licensee or holder term planning. The Selangor State Government, of permit, and New Sixth Schedule for for example, in its Seventh Malaysia Plan (1996 list of machines, equipment and - 2000) invested in the demarcations of external conveyance”. 7 Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia forest reserves boundaries in order to prevent management of the forest resources, the For- forest crimes, particularly encroachment for estry Department had revised the Forest Manual illegal agricultural activities and illegal extraction in 1995 which was originally formulated during of forest produce. British administration in the year 1935. The manual documents in detail all the processes The Selangor State government also invests in and procedures of administration, management programs aimed at strengthening the manpower and services provided by the Department. competency through additional personnel, in service training and additional vehicles for Chapter 14 of the Manual describes in detail the enforcement activities. For the purpose of processes and procedures in forest law facilitating accessibility into forest areas for forest enforcement activities. The various aspects development works and forest operation covered include: classification of forest and activities existing forest roads were upgraded of wood industry offenses; detection of offenses in existing while new ones constructed in strategic the forest; inspection of logging areas, wood- locations in order to help in carrying out forest based industries premises, and forest produce surveillance operations. in transit; as well as handling public complaints. The Manual also gives detail guidelines on how Forest Management Plan to take action when forest offenses occur, Elements of law enforcement are incorporate in confiscation and seizure of illegal forest the Forest Management Plan to guide the produce, and procedures and techniques on how monitoring of forestry activities. In the latest to make arrest. It also describes the procedures format introduced by Forestry Department of in making a police report and how to write an Peninsular Malaysia it is explicitly stated under investigation paper and finally, how to prosecute the forest protection section (subsection in court. boundary control) that the department should describe actions to be taken to control Malaysian Criteria and Indicators for encroachment, shifting cultivation and illegal Sustainable Forest Management logging. The importance of forest law enforcement is also In the Forest Management Plan of Johor for the spelled out in the criteria and indicators for 1996 –2005 period, for example, 1,224.7 km of sustainable forest management recently permanent forest estate external boundaries will formulated in the country. Among the criteria be demarcated while maintenance works will be and indicators that either relate directly or carried out on about 2,453.04 km of existing indirectly to the prevention of illegal forest boundaries. The main purpose of such activities activities are as follows: are essentially to ensure that the boundaries are I. Criteria 1: Enabling conditions for sustainable visible and easily identified by the public as well forest management as forestry personnel. Other measures include Indicators: 1.1 Existence of a framework of the maintenance of about 3,791.9 km of laws, policies, and regulation govern: compartment boundaries. e) the control of forest harvesting Other than boundary control, however, there is f) the control of encroachment no requirement in the plan to describe the i) the participation of local communities enforcement operations that need to be carried II. Criteria 2: Forest resource security out by the forestry personnel. No surveillance Indicators: 2.2. Length and percentage of strategies need to be stated, so are the external boundaries of the permanent frequency, time and type of personnel involves forest estate demarcated or clearly defined in the patrolling and logistics support. In addition, III. Criteria 6: Economic, Social and Cultural it is noted that there is no provision on education Aspects and extension activities to create public Indicators: 6.1. Ratio of domestic log awareness towards the existence and the production to processing capacity of wood- importance of the forestry law and regulations. based industries Without such awareness the department will not Indicators: 7.10. Extent to which tenure be able to get the necessary support from the and user rights over the forest are public in helping its law enforcement activities. documented and recognized Indicators: 7.11. Extent to which forest Forest Manual Of Peninsular Malaysia planning and management practices 1953 (Revision 1995) and processes consider legal or customary In her effort to improve the efficiency and rights with to indigenous and local effectiveness of the administration and communities, forest dwellers and other forest dependent communities Rusli Mohd and Amat Ramsa Yaman 8

Professional or In-service Training Public Education The Forestry Department conducts regular Prior to the amendments of the National Forestry training programs on forest law enforcement to Act, 1984, very little effort has been done by the enhance the skills, leadership ability and Forestry Department to educate the public on knowledge of its personnel. Training on the the importance of forest law enforcement. National Forestry Act, 1984, forest law However, since the revision in 1993, nation wide enforcement, investigation and prosecution, and seminar and dialogs were conducted with the law and court procedure is given to senior objective of informing loggers, sawmillers and officers, forest rangers and foresters. The senior the general public on the importance of forests officers were given training in law enforcement and forest industries, including forest law. aspects that include the techniques of law However, such seminars and dialogs are not enforcement, investigation and court proceeding. conducted on a regular basis. Some district In running the course, the Forestry Department forest offices do conduct briefings to loggers and was assisted by personnel from the Malaysian their workers about forest law, rules and Royal Police College, and the Training Institute regulations prior to the commencement of of Law and Judiciary of the Prime Ministers logging operations but this is not a standard Department. practice. 9 Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia

PART 4 DETECTION OF FOREST OFFENSES

Role of the Forestry Department and is, of late, considerably low. The total number of Other Stakeholders reported cases for the period 1996-1999 is 374 cases and this gives an average occurrence of Among others, the prevention and control of 93.5 cases per year (Table 3). There is not much illegal logging and encroachment are carried out variation in the occurrence of forest offenses through air surveillance using helicopter, if between the years. Of all the states, forest of- required, as well as spot checks. The fenses occurred much more in Kelantan than Enforcement Unit both at the Federal and State the other states. Forest offenses occurred three levels could step up efforts to prevent and times more in that state than in Pahang, where investigate encroachment, fire, grazing and the next highest incidence of forest offenses illegal exploitation of forests and collaborate with occurred. the police and the armed forces to enhance surveillance of forestry activities, especially in The east coast states of Pahang, Terengganu curbing illegal logging, encroachment of forest and Kelantan still have large areas of forests and areas and timber theft, as provided for under harvesting activities are more active in this region section 5 of the National Forestry Act 1984. than the other three regions of Peninsular Malaysia. It could be to this factor that the The enforcement of sections 15 and 40 of the occurrence of forest offenses is highest in the National Forestry Act, 1984 with regard to a East Coast region (Table 4). maximum fine of RM 500,000 and an imprisonment for a term of not less than one (1) The various forest offenses, as prescribed by year but not exceeding 20 years for commission the National Forestry Act, 1984 can be generally of a forest offense would serve as a deterrent categorized into three classes (Table 5). Data penalty. With the enforcement of sections 100A show that category III offenses recorded the and 100B public involvement and participation highest number of cases and the number is in curbing such illegal activities and reducing increasing. Offenses in this category can be their incidences in the forest areas is enhanced. considered as minor offenses. The most serious The development of Geographical Information of the offenses would be in category I, which System (GIS) and remote-sensing technology essentially are illegal logging cases. The rate of would further strengthen the monitoring capacity occurrence of offenses in this category has been on the implementation of detection techniques quite consistent averaging about 20 cases per of forest resource changes due to occurrences year. On the other hand, forest encroachment of illegal logging and encroachment as well as activities for agricultural purposes seem to be fire. declining during the last few years. In 1996, there were 86 cases and it dropped to only 6 cases in Occurrence of Forest Offenses 1999. Available data show that the occurrence of all Incidence of Illegal Logging types of forest offenses in Peninsular Malaysia Data in Table 6 show the occurrence of illegal

Table 4: Number of Forest Offenses by Region, 1996-1999 R6egion 1799 1899 1999 1L99 TOTA Nsorthern Region P05106erli K18edah 101873 P00101.Pinang P3erak 1917874 Central Region S3elangor 1790193 N70524.Sembilan 1 Southern Region M10001elaka J56517ohor 1 Enast Coast Region K2elanta 4727165214 T95442erengganu 2 P0ahang 19613184 T1OTAL 160 9572140 37 Source: Forestry Department P. Malaysia, unpublished Rusli Mohd and Amat Ramsa Yaman 10

Table 5: Number of offenses by category, 1996-1999 YIear CIategory CIategory I Category II 14996 1681 12997 26383 13998 2844 16999 2427 T5OTAL 84153 15 Category I – logging without license, logging outside boundary, construction of infrastructure and forest roads without permission. Category II – forest encroachment for agriculture activities and settlement. Category III – felling of unmarked trees, unlicensed workers, unregistered machinery and other breaches of rules and regulations.

logging activities in permanent reserved forest Organization for Forest Offenses in Peninsular Malaysia for the period 1987 to 1999. There is no detail information on how forest crimes are organized. However, there is The total number of illegal logging cases re- evidence to indicate that some forest encroach- corded for the period is 1725 and the average ment activities are organized by those who want case per year is 133. The highest number of to make quick profits. These individuals will hire cases was recorded in 1991 at 512 while the foreign workers to fell the forest area as large lowest was 14 recorded in 1996. The number as 20-50 hectares and then sell them to any in- of cases fluctuates from 1987 to 1993 but dras- terested party. Such activities normally take place tically reduced starting in 1994. The average in easily accessible forest areas. number of cases per year for the period 1987 to 1993 is 223 and this is eight times more than There are two other types of encroachment. The the annual average for the 1994 – 1999 period. first involves the villagers who need land for the Of all the states, Kelantan, and Pahang recorded cultivation of crops, especially fruit trees. Such relatively higher number of cases than the other encroachment is normally done on small scale states. involving an area of one to two hectares. It normally happens near forest fringes. The The drastic reduction in the number of illegal second type involves the aboriginal people that logging cases could be due to the introduction practices shifting cultivation. They normally cut of higher penalties as specified in the in remotely located areas, often close to their amendments of the National Forestry Act, 1984. villages. The amendments were made in 1993 and were adopted by the states progressively beginning There is also no information whether or not there in 1994. One of the main changes made in the is organized market for illegally cut timber. Act is the increase in penalty for “illegal logging” Based on discussions with forestry department from a maximum fine of RM 10,000 to RM personnel, it can be generally concluded that the 500,000. The maximum length of imprisonment illegal timber is disposed locally and probably was increased from 3 years to 20 years. being utilized by illegal wood-based industries.

Table 6: Illegal logging in Permanent Reserved Forest, 1987 – 1999 S7tate ‘88 ‘98 ‘08 ‘19 ‘29 ‘39 ‘49 ‘59 ‘69 ‘79 ‘89 ‘99 ‘l9 Tota J90ohor 1222132217195-12112 3 K950edah 3810101-331-3359 K5elantan 26253436155 16272169213 036 N.S’bilan 116 16181117421122-4214 2 P3ahang 1652927113 32474334731 1 P7erak 32112628180 20113-53225 6 Perlis 2-2------2 Selangor 566 586719332813-33127 8 T50erengganu 14181825243214-12-15 3 Total 1672 133 223 127 511 199 114 463412232625172 Source: Forestry Department P. Malaysia, unpublished. 11 Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia

There is little possibility that the illegal timber sociated with damage to forests and wildlife. No being mixed with the legal ones since each log studies have been conducted to estimate both has to be tagged before passed through the for- the direct and indirect impacts of forest offenses. est checking stations for inspection. Licensed In terms of impact per unit area of forest, en- wood-based industries are not likely to purchase croachment activities are most costly because illegal timber because it will jeopardize their im- revenues are not collected from the felled tim- age. Records are kept on all logs received and ber while the damage done to the environment stored in the mill premises, including the dates is very substantial since forests are cleared and of processing. Forest officers on regular basis converted to agriculture. In addition, the indus- inspect these records and cases of discrepancy try will also suffer due to decreasing log supply. will be reported to the higher authority. Illegal timber can also be processed for rough timber Some estimates on the lost in revenue can be by the local community using chainsaw only and judged by looking at the amount of later sell them to local people for construction of compensation paid by illegal loggers to the their own houses. Forestry Departments. From 1996 to 1999, the total amount of compensation collected by the Impacts of Forest Offenses forest department was about RM 7 million, giving Impacts of forest crimes can be classified into an average of about RM 20,000 per offense. The two categories, namely direct and indirect im- total lost is a lot more when damage to pact. Direct impacts relate to lost of revenue to biodiversity and the environment is taken into the state government in the form of premium, calculation. The loss in biodiversity will take a royalty and cess. Indirect impacts are those as- very long time to be recovered. Rusli Mohd and Amat Ramsa Yaman 12

PART 5 SUPPRESSION STRATEGIES

Government’s Response System to also assists in the investigation of forest offences Information on Forest Crimes detected at the forest district. Under the provisions of section 103 of the Act, the State Information on forest crimes is either reported Director of Forestry may prosecute any forest indirectly through the media or directly to the offense, or institute any action, suit or other Forestry Department. Almost all the State proceeding relating to any matter, under this Act. Forestry Departments in Peninsular Malaysia has In any prosecution, action, suit or other Enforcement Units that are responsible to follow proceeding, the State Director of Forestry may up on reports of forest crimes. In line with the appear personally, or may be represented by any Client’s Charter, the Enforcement Units are Federal Counsel, Legal Adviser, advocate and obliged to respond to the information almost solicitor or forest officer. immediately. The statement in the Charter states that whatever complaints received from the The Forestry Department cooperates with other public/informer, media and other agencies must state departments in the enforcement of forest be attended to immediately. The Client’s law. The Department usually gets the assistance Charters states: of the police, District Land Office, and Land and Mines Office when conducting large-scale “ Information and feedback enforcement operations. The main purpose of received from the public will be involving other agencies is to attack the problem acknowledged. All complaints with a multi-prong strategy. The ultimate aim is pertaining to forest offences to charge the offender with bigger crimes, and shall be acted upon within a not just forest crimes. With this cooperative period of not more than three (3) strategy, the likelihood that the offender gets days.” away will be minimized. The police officers are Information on forest crimes can come to the empowered under section 88, 89, 90, 91, 92 and office of the State Director of Forestry or to the 93 of the Act to exercise powers of arrest, District Office. Subsequently, either the search, seizure and investigation but members enforcement unit at the state office or officers in of the armed forces may only be delegated in the operation section of the District Forest Office writing by the State Director of Forestry to confer will take the necessary steps to investigate the or imposed such duty except that the powers reports. According to subsection 88 (3) of the delegated to the members of armed forces shall National Forestry Act 1984, any forest officer not not include the power of investigation. below the rank of Assistant District Forest Outcomes of Suppression Activities Officer, any police officer not below the rank of Sergeant and any officer in charge of a police No detail information is available on the recent station, may in relation to any investigation in suppression activities. In response to a question respect of any forest offense, without order of on illegal logging raised in the Lower House of the Public Prosecutor, exercise the special the Parliament in 1998, the Minister of Primary powers in relations to police investigations given Industry commented that the problem has by the Criminal Procedure Code in any seizable improved because offenders have been taken case. However, under the provision of section 5 to court and lost and had to pay bigger amount of the Act, these powers of investigation cannot of fines in addition to imprisonment. In one be delegated, even in writing, to any member of particular case, an illegal logger was fined RM50, the armed forces. 000 and sentenced to one-year jail. However, he failed to pay his fine and as a result he The Enforcement Unit at the State Forestry received a longer jail sentence for one-half years. Department has a bigger responsibility than just Jail sentences are beginning to become more to response to reports on forest crimes. Of the common in Peninsular Malaysia lately than in the eleven states in Peninsular Malaysia, four states past. do not have enforcement units in their organization. These states are categorized as Illegal Logging and Criminal Justice System small in terms of the size of their Permanent Illegal logging are criminal acts and this means Reserved Forest. The unit inspects logging that the manner by which suspects are handled activities, checks logging licenses, inspects mill or treated is governed by the provisions of the premises, monitors forest produce in transit, and country’s law on crimes, namely the Penal Code investigates public complaints. In some cases, and the Criminal Procedure Code. These laws at the request of the district forest office, the unit also outline the procedure for the disposal of 13 Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia confiscated materials. Sections 89 and 93 of In Peninsular Malaysia, the same courts and the National Forestry Act, 1984 also provide judges are used for handling forest crimes as guidelines on how confiscated materials are well as other crimes. There are no specialized handled. courts and judges to hear cases on illegal logging. Forest offences are prosecuted either Current laws on “white collar crimes” or other in the Magistrate Court or the Session Court. The forms of crimes are, theoretically, applicable to judges are not specifically trained in forest law instigators of illegal logging. Nevertheless, the but are familiar with the National forestry forest law itself has provisions on this subject. (Amendment) Act 1993”. Section 110 of the Act provides that the employer would have been liable to any penalty for any- thing done or committed by his partner, agent or servant. Rusli Mohd and Amat Ramsa Yaman 14

PART 6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Like any other crimes, it is almost impossible to sentence them with the maximum fine and jail stop the occurrence of forest offenses, sentence. The probability of arrest for illegal particularly illegal logging. Many factors are loggers would be increased with increase in spot driving the occurrence of such offenses. The checks, particularly by using aerial surveillance. bottom line is, it definitely pays to commit crimes The Forestry Department could send some in the forests. It is true that the penalties for officers for training on the latest techniques of committing forest offenses are much higher now forest crimes surveillance. than before but the expected penalties are still Forest encroachment activities are more driven low. Logging operations are now located in by land hunger and poverty than other factors. remote areas, therefore the probability of Such being the case, the government should try detection and arrest for forest offenses is low. to help these people by giving them land to plant In addition to remoteness of timber harvesting their crops to earn their living. Giving them land operations, the forestry departments are short through the FELDA or FELCRA settlement of field staffs to monitor these operations. Also, schemes might be the shortest solution to the the compensations imposed and collected for problem of encroachment. forest offenses are very low compared with the maximum penalties prescribed in the legislation. Forest offenses, particularly illegal logging, have The deterrent factor for not committing forest been a “thorn in the flesh” to the forestry authority offenses is truly not visible. and will continue to haunt them in the future. The authority should be given credits for taking some Government policy sometimes has tended to positive steps to curb the problems. Increasing encourage illegal logging. Some state the penalties for forest offenses was a credible governments have charged very high tender move and so was the implementation of timber price for timber harvesting rights and this has tagging system. Currently, the Forestry caused timber companies to log areas that are Department is actively implementing the not allocated to them in order to recover as much sustainable forest management initiative through cost as possible from timber harvesting the application of criteria and indicators that have operations. It was reported that some states incorporated the element of forest law charge price for timber very much above the enforcement. The Department is also in the expected stumpage value of the standing timber. process of getting certification from ISO and this A steady, if not increasing, demand for logs is should further improve the law enforcement definitely a strong factor that influences forest system in the country. The bottom line is the offenses, particularly illegal logging. Demand for authority is not keeping quite on the problem of timber in the country both for domestic forest crimes. consumption and export is still good. However, It is very difficult to say that the increase in the supply of timber is limited because the size penalties for forest offenses have contributed of forest areas is decreasing day by day. As a significantly to the reduction in forest offenses. result, the price for logs and timber products is A detailed study should be done to determine still high. Under such a scenario and coupled whether or not that is so. However, from the with the fact that the probability of arrest is low, it data shown earlier, the incidence of forest is very difficult to eliminate the occurrence of offenses has reduced drastically since the illegal logging. Greed and craze for short-term implementation of the amended forest act. This and quick profits have always driven human may mean that the increase in penalties has beings to commit many different forms of helped to reduce offenses. crimes. Poverty and land hunger could have a strong influence on forest encroachment for Effective forest law enforcement is one of the agricultural activities. key pre-requisites towards achieving the objective of sustainable forest management. One of the immediate steps that can be taken to Resource sustainability, ecosystem health and minimize the occurrence of forest offenses is to stability, environmental enhancement and make the deterrent factor visible and real. protection, sustained growth of the wood-based Offenders must be made to realize and industries are influenced by effective forest law experience that “crime does not pay.” Illegal enforcement. On the other hand, as was loggers must be punished as severely as stressed earlier, forest law enforcement will be possible and such offenses should not be more effective if there is a good communication compounded but dealt with in court. Judges must system and clear boundary demarcation. not symphatise with these loggers and should 15 Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia

Indirectly, law enforcement encourages good the occurrence of forest offenses. management practices and facilities. Conclusion The current legislative framework in Peninsular Malaysia does provide adequate support for Like any other crimes, there are many factors effective forest law enforcement. As mentioned driving the occurrence of forest offenses. earlier, current legislation views forest offenses Remoteness of timber harvesting operations, seriously by incorporating heavy penalties for short of the forestry departments field staffs as them and, at the same time, it gives sufficient well as low compensations imposed and authority to the forest officers for its enforcement. collected for forest offenses has reduced the What is required is for more resources to be put in the enforcement of the law, particularly more probability of detection and arrest for forest funds and trained and committed personnel. offenses. In addition, very high tender price for Also, the provisions of the law must be timber harvesting rights in some states has implemented fully. caused timber companies to commit illegal logging in order to recover cost. Under such a There is also now a stronger political will and scenario and coupled with the fact that the support than before for more effective forest law enforcement. Judging by comments made by a demand for timber in the county is high, it is very number of heads of the state governments in difficult to eliminate the occurrence of forest newspapers, there is now greater offenses in particular illegal logging. consciousness on the importance of forests and The authority, particularly the Forestry the environment to the society. Many state Department should be given credits for taking politicians have made strong comments in the press against illegal logging and forest some positive steps to curb the problems. encroachment and have called on the forestry Increasing the penalties for forest offenses, authorities to deal with the problems urgently. application of criteria and indicators for However, there is no clear evidence on the sustainable forest management that have position of the private sector with regard to forest incorporated the element of forest law law enforcement. There is an urgent need to enforcement as well as getting certification from study the perception of private timber companies ISO should further improve the law enforcement on the issue of forest offenses so that strategies system in the country. Available data show that can be developed to educate them, if necessary. the incidence of forest offenses has reduced The bottom line is, the private sector has to drastically since the implementation of these realize that committing forest offenses, measures. particularly illegal logging, would not bring any long-term benefit either to themselves or the The current legislative framework coupled with society at large. a stronger political will does provide adequate support for effective forest law enforcement. Recommendations What is required is for more resources to be put 1. Implement the National Forestry Act, 1984, in the enforcement of the law, particularly more fully and effectively, particularly in matters funds and trained and committed personnel. In dealing with forest offenses. Illegal loggers, addition, the provisions of the law must be in particular, should be punished more implemented fully. One of the immediate steps severely in accordance with the provisions that can be taken to minimize the occurrence of of the Act. forest offenses is to make the deterrent factor 2. Provide more resources for forest law visible and real. Illegal loggers must be punished enforcement, particularly funds, trained and as severely as possible with the maximum fine committed manpower, and appropriate technology. and jail sentence. The probability of arrest for illegal loggers would be increased with increase 3. Educate forest communities, private timber in spot checks, particularly by using aerial companies and certain politicians on the importance of forest law and its effective surveillance. The Forestry Department could enforcement. send some officers for training on the latest techniques of forest crimes surveillance. Since 4. Promote programs that would provide opportunities for rural communities to earn there is no clear evidence on the position of the income from sources other than from the private sector with regard to forest law forest lands. enforcement, there is an urgent need to study 5. Review timber-pricing policies that encourage Rusli Mohd and Amat Ramsa Yaman 16 the perception of private timber companies on the issue of forest offenses so that strategies can be developed to educate them, if necessary. 17 Overview of Forest Law Enforcement in Peninsular Malaysia

References

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