Govt to stop issuing forest permits<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Forestry will stop issuing new
\nlicenses to exploit forests next year, except for forests in
\nIrian Jaya and East Timor, the ministry's secretary-general
\nOetomo said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Oetomo said the ministry would refuse all applications for new
\nconcessions except for those wanting to operate in the two
\nprovinces.<\/p>\n
\"There will be no new timber estates except in Irian Jaya and
\nEast Timor,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Oetomo said Irian Jaya was potentially a good area to develop
\na timber industry because it had a vast tracts of forest.<\/p>\n
But he said investors were hesitant about investing money
\nthere because they considered the province unstable.<\/p>\n
He said some timber investors believed that Irian Jaya's logs
\nwere too small in diameter to be economically viable.<\/p>\n
\"But if the logs were truly uneconomical investors could
\ndevelop timber estates to supply pulp industries,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that several investors had proposed to develop timber
\nestates in the two provinces.<\/p>\n
\"We haven't set any limit on the number of timber companies
\n(allowed) to operate in the two provinces,\" he said, adding that
\nthe ministry was still studying the applications.<\/p>\n
But he declined to give details on when the licenses would be
\nissued.<\/p>\n
He said the ministry also had been studying the possibility of
\ndeveloping timber industries, such as pulp and plywood in Irian
\nJaya.<\/p>\n
\"We are looking into whether Irian Jaya's forests are capable
\nof fulfilling the demands of new timber-related industries,\" he
\nsaid. (gis)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-stop-issuing-forest-permits-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}