Despite Bali and Joburg, Lampung abuses forest<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso H.N.
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nBandarlampung<\/p>\n
Certain groups in Lampung have apparently shown complete disdain
\nfor the Sustainable Development Summit that opened in
\nJohannesburg, South Africa, on Monday as they are continuing,
\nwith the partial blessing of government decree, to loot a major
\npart of the protected forest in Bukit Barisan National Park, due
\nto illegal farming and logging.<\/p>\n
An alliance of local nongovernmental organizations accused the
\ngovernment of \"forestry crimes\" since it had a lot to do with
\nallowing a 1995 government sustainable forestry development
\nprogram to be abused by many.<\/p>\n
They said Ministerial Decree No. 662 issued by the Ministry of
\nForestry in 1995 to launch the forestry development program, was
\na good idea that called for sustainability and moderation by
\nallowing a limited amount of planting to be done in the forest
\nwithout cutting down trees over a certain size. But it was abused
\nby many people and apparently aided and abetted by local
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
\"The decree, or at least in the way some have chosen to
\ninterpret it, has allowed forest 'squatting', causing serious
\ndamage to 60 percent of the 350,000-hectare national park,\"
\nWatono Nurdin, director of the Consortium for Lampung Forest
\nConservation (K2HL) told The Jakarta Post here over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Watono criticized the government for its \"overprogress\" in
\ncarrying out the sustainable development program by exploiting
\nforest resources, which it was not supposed to do under the
\ndecree.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia was actually a step ahead of the Johannesburg
\nSummit, but Lampung's misinterpretation, or perhaps abuse, of the
\npolicy has resulted in serious deterioration,\" he lamented.<\/p>\n
The provincial administration, in cooperation with the
\nNational Agrarian Agency (BPN) actually allows local farmers,
\nthrough cooperatives, to utilize, in moderation, protected
\nforests to grow certain crops in efforts to help improve their
\nsocial welfare and to prevent them from cutting down trees.<\/p>\n
\"The ministerial decree, in the manner in which it was
\nimplemented, has caused serious damage to the forests and the
\nnational parks and their biodiversity. Even worse, a part of the
\nnational park has been claimed by farmers as their personal
\nproperty,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, the ministerial decree that has been revised
\nseveral times must be suspended temporarily to repair the local
\npeople's misperception on the forestry program.<\/p>\n
According to Worlwide Fund for Nature (WWF) data, some 9,000
\nhectares of forests in Pematang Sawah, Tanggamus Regency, have
\nbeen converted into farmland by forest squatters, in addition to
\nthe thousands of local people who have illegally settled on
\nseveral forest areas in Sinarjaya, Purwosari, Srirejo, Tejomulyo,
\nKarang Anyar and Sinar Laut.<\/p>\n
Tugiman, chief of the local office of BPN, declined to comment
\non the rife forest looting in the province.<\/p>\n
Yulden Erwin, coordinator of the Lampung Anticorruption
\nCommittee (Koak) called on the international environmental and
\nfinancial organizations to be more selective in providing
\nassistance to the government and its poverty eradication programs
\nin the forestry sector, because they were being abused and
\ncausing serious problems for the environment.<\/p>\n
According to him, corrupt local officials manipulated the
\ngovernment policy on forests to enrich themselves, and in the
\nprocess caused wide swaths of deforestation.<\/p>\n
He said many local government offices as well as the police
\nand military had turned a deaf ear to the increasing calls to
\nhalt the deforestation, mostly due to illegal logging in national
\nparks.<\/p>",
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