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Innovations in RIL Technology

Written by Art Klassen Thursday, 07 October 2010 10:37

Forest Concessions Borrow A Page Out of The Illegal Loggers Handbook !!

During the initial years of decentralization, chaos prevailed in the Indonesian forestry sector. District and Provincial Governments issued harvesting permits, frequently overlapping with licenses issued by the central Ministry of Forests. The Government bowed to pressure from the IMF and World Bank to reopen the possibility of log exports. And illegal loggers took advantage of the resulting chaos to expand their activities throughout Indonesia.

The Indonesian made "monocable"		A forest log deck ready for the "second" pull to the road side.

Now that order has been restored, a potential benefit of those chaotic times is emerging in the form of a technical innovation pioneered by the illegal loggers. The innovation is in the form of a simple machine used for pulling logs along the ground through the forest, thus eliminating the need for skid trails from the areas being logged.

Local loggers call this the “monocable”. It is a scaled up version of extraction equipment commonly used on small private European woodlots but it is manufactured in Samarinda, East Kalimantan from locally available components. More importantly, it offers great promise of achieving a number of objectives central to the goals of Reduced Impact Logging.

Comparative planning scenarious for monocable logging vs conventional logging

First of all, it is relatively inexpensive to operate. Experience to-date suggests that a felling and skidding costs of Rp. 90,000/cu.m. is achievable for skidding distances up to 200 m.

Secondly, since the machine can winch itself into position and then pull logs to the machine from a distance of 100 meters for a maximum of two set-ups per operating area, the need for skid trails are eliminated from much of the logging area thus dramatically reducing site disturbance, erosion risk, and impact to the residual stand.

Finally, by contracting out a portion of its annual cutting area (RKT) to community based private enterprises, the concession company has an opportunity to stimulate the development of small business and to offer a meaningful way in which local communities can participate in forest concession management thereby creating the basis for a more constructive relationship with its community neighbors.

1)  Current exchange rate is Rp. 9,000 / US$ 1		A nine cu. m. log being pulled into position

Trials were initiated in July 2009 in two East Kalimantan concessions using over a dozen machines. Initial results are promising, however some difficulties will have to be resolved.

TFF will be monitoring and evaluating this simple but innovative development and will keep you posted.