VZCZCXRO9992
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0951 1550404
ZNR UUUUUZZH
R 040404Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASQHDC 2468
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS COLL
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000951 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR OES/ENRC, EAP/MTS 
USTR FOR DBROOKS 
USAID FOR ANE, EGAT 
AGRICULTURE FOR FOREST SERVICE 
 
TREASURY FOR KBERG 
BANGKOK FOR RDM/A 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAGR KGHG ECON PGOV ID
SUBJECT: Indonesia Takes Landmark Step on Timber Legality 
 
¶1. On Friday, May 29, Indonesia's Minister of Forestry M.S. Kaban 
signed a decree on a timber legality verification standard (Standar 
Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu, or SVLK).  The SVLK is a landmark step 
because it significantly empowers officials to clamp down on illegal 
timber harvesting, transport and trade through simplified regulation 
and law enforcement.  The legality standard will be crucial to U.S. 
efforts to enforce the amended Lacey Act, given that the Lacey Act 
defines legality according to the laws of the country of origin of 
timber products entering the U.S. market. 
 
¶2. An informal multi-stakeholder process to develop this timber 
legality standard began in 2002.  The process was formalized in 2006 
under the Ministry of Forestry (MOF).  The final draft SVLK was 
approved internally by MOF officials and presented to the Minister 
for his signature in late 2008.  However, lingering concerns about 
the SVLK's potential impact on the timber industry delayed the 
Minister's final approval until last week.  However, Post has not 
yet seen the final version, and cannot confirm the extent to which 
it reflects the stakeholder-agreed text. 
 
¶3. The final impetus for signing the decree appears to have been the 
amended Lacey Act.  Statements by MOF officials indicate they see 
the SVLK as a clear way for the Indonesian timber industry to 
assuage U.S. importers' concerns about timber legality.  "The 
government has established a timber legality verification system 
(SVLK) in anticipation of the Lacey Act", said the Director General 
for Forest Production Development in Jakarta recently. 
 
U.S. Support for Developing the SVLK 
------------------------------------ 
¶4. From 2002 to today, The Nature Conservancy has played a key role 
in assisting the MOF and stakeholders to develop the national timber 
legality standard, with USAID support.  In 2005, these efforts 
prompted the MOF to launch a formal stakeholder process led by the 
Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (LEI) to develop management and 
operational procedures to implement the legality standard.  Under 
the broader U.S. commitment to implement the 2006 Memorandum of 
Understanding on Combating Illegal Logging and Associated Trade, The 
Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Forest Service, World Resources 
Institute, and the Indonesian NGO Sekala assisted the MOF with 
working out final aspects of the new legality standard.  The United 
Kingdom's Department for International Development also provided 
complementary support. 
 
Next Steps 
----------- 
¶5. The SVLK now goes to MOF's Legal Bureau for administrative 
processing prior to submission to the Ministry of Law.  The Ministry 
of Law will then officially publish the decree in the state gazette. 
 The subsequent challenge is to make the SVLK operational.  The MOF 
will need continued assistance to train personnel and pilot the key 
processes and procedures within the Ministry and in the field that 
must be in place for effective implementation of the legality 
standard, with a strong emphasis on transparency and accountability, 
including the training of independent assessors.  Neither Post nor 
NGOs that were active participants to the SVLK's development have 
seen the final version of the SVLK.  Post will share the contents of 
the ministerial decree once it has obtained a copy. 
 
HUME