Labuan Bajo (Greeners) – Following lack of awareness and implementation of mandatory wood legal certification, locally known as SVLK, a focus group discussion designed to speed up the information was held in West Manggarai district of East Nusa Tenggara, said head of West Manggarai district, Agustinus C Dula, on an official statement, in Tuesday (20/3).
“[This] FGD will be the first point to strengthen wood industry in West Manggarai as the district has large wood potentials. The market can go smoothly if they are legalized and certified,” said Dula. “This is a the first step as the system has yet to be implemented in West Manggarai.”
The FGD is part of capacity building from non-government agencies, initiated by Bird Life International under funding by European Union and held in four countries, — Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Papua New Guinea.
READ ALSO: SVLK Boosts Indonesia’s Wood Export to 10.94 Billion Dollar
Forest Programme Coordinator of Burung Indonesia, Asep Ayat said that SVLK was aiming to prevent illegal logging practices, improve forest sustainability, and increase selling value and livelihood. If they’re certified, said Ayat, access for wood products, such as furniture will be extensive.
“Currently, SVLK implementation has yet to be introduced to Indonesia’s eastern parts, for instance West Manggarai of East Nusa Tenggara. Teak farmers in the district has yet to organized its wood products, it can be seen from the price. They only sell for Rp500,000 per tree while other regions can tag for one to two million rupiah per tree,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Director of Forest Product Management and Marketing, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Rufiie, said that Indonesia’s SVLK has been accepted by European Nations as they only received legal wood. Hence, wood potential in West Manggarai has the opportunity to become high value commodity under the certification process.
Based on data by Ministry of Environment and Forestry, at least 22 million hectares of forest areas and 3,168 industries were certified. In addition, 250 certifications issued for title forests with a total of 716,784 hectares by October 2017.
Penulis: Dewi Purningsih
21 Apr 2024 
