Deforestation leaves Dieng Plateau barren<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Wonosobo, Central Java<\/p>\n
Wonosobo regency, some 120 kilometers west of the provincial
\ncapital Semarang, is famed for its scenic Dieng mountain range
\nand well-known for its large teak trees which cover one-third of
\nthe area.<\/p>\n
But three years after winning the national award for
\nreforestation for five consecutive years, the people woke up in
\nanger, realizing that more and more of their forest had gone.<\/p>\n
According to official data, at least 60 percent of more than
\n20,000 hectares of forest managed by PT Perhutani Kedu Utara has
\nbeen destroyed by unscrupulous loggers. The trail of destruction
\nhas left only bushes and shrubs. In many areas, the teak forests
\nhave turned into tea plantations.<\/p>\n
Many can be blamed for the forest devastation, but the people
\nblame mismanagement by state-owned forestry company PT Perhutani.<\/p>\n
The problem in Wonosobo is just the same as that of other
\nagrarian regencies where forest ownership and management --
\nofficially or not -- lie in the hands of state-owned companies
\ninstead of the locals.<\/p>\n
None, or little, of the profit goes to the locals who often
\ntake the blame for the forest destruction as they attempt to make
\na living out of their backyard, cultivating vegetables such as
\npotatoes and cabbages.<\/p>\n
But the illegal logging is not the only underlying factor that
\nendangers the environment. The disappearance of water sources on
\nthe mountains is another.<\/p>\n
Things like the increasing demands for vegetables and the
\ndwindling agricultural land have compelled farmers to use toxic
\nfungicide and pesticide to ensure a good harvest. This practice
\nhas been attributed to the declining environment in the regency.<\/p>\n
But there is yet to be thorough research conducted on the
\ntoxic content in the soil due to the agricultural practice.<\/p>\n
Wonosobo may not be the apple of the government's eye, but it
\ncertainly has tremendous industrial and tourist potential thanks
\nto the lovely panorama of the Dieng plateau which the
\nadministration shares with Banjarnegara regency.<\/p>\n
Crispy mushroom chips, canned mushroom, carica (a brand name
\nfor bottled papaya chips in heavy syrup) and tasty ready-to-eat
\nshredded meat are the most popular products to have been exported
\nfrom the region.<\/p>\n
Button mushrooms grow easily here, while the unique small
\npapaya that smells and tastes like oranges can only grow well in
\nthe plateau, which lies at a height of some 2,000 metres (6,600
\nfeet) above sea level.<\/p>\n
Dieng villagers are also proud of the popular purwaceng plants
\n(Pimtinella pruacen) believed as powerful herbal aphrodisiac,
\ndubbed as the local version of Viagra. National medicinal herbs
\ncompanies get tons of the raw material for their products from
\nlocals here.<\/p>\n
The people are another wonder. Some children are born with red
\ntangled hair, while others develop it over the years. People
\nbelieve it as a blessing from their gimbal-haired ancestors and a
\nsign of good fortune.<\/p>\n
The scientific explanation for the tangled hair is the
\npresence of a high level of chlorine in the area, the climate and
\ngenetic factors. But there have been no conclusive studies
\ncompleted.<\/p>\n
The tangle, they say, would stay if the parents failed to
\nsatisfy the child's request for an animal sacrifice before the
\nhair is cut by the person of the child's choosing.<\/p>\n
A cow or two big fish would be a request the parents could
\nperhaps fulfill, but what if the three-year-old Ulfi Fitriana
\ndemands a (real) red bus before she allows anybody to cut her
\ntangled hair?<\/p>\n
Other attractions, such as the ninth-century Hindu Pendawa
\nLima temples, the active Dieng plateau craters, the green Lake
\nWarna and the clear Lake Balaikambang are the main tourism lures
\nwith potential to enrich the administration's income.<\/p>\n
Too bad, they are not well managed. The temples, believed to
\nbe evidence of the dawning of civilization of Java, have lost
\ntheir statues due to theft. Graffiti has defaced the beautiful
\nstone carvings.<\/p>\n
The lakes have lost their beautiful original colors after the
\nflood in 1998 turned them muddy due to rampant illegal logging
\nupstream.<\/p>\n
From the facts, the timber industry should not be the major
\nincome source. The administration is yet to realize that keeping
\nthe ancestor's legacies and preserving nature are really what
\nsells best.<\/p>",
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