No more logging in Java, govt says<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan
\nand Suherdjoko
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nSemarang\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Due to a threat to the water supply of 128 million people living
\non Java, the government declared on Monday a ban on logging and
\ndecided to review farming policies on this densely populated
\nisland.<\/p>\n
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting held to discuss the drought,
\nCoordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said the
\ngovernment had decided to ban logging in Java to preserve water
\nfor the population.<\/p>\n
"Our decision has been to stop logging in Java," Kalla said.<\/p>\n
All commercial plantations and logging activities in Java are
\ncontrolled by state-owned forest company Perhutani.<\/p>\n
With the logging ban, Perhutani has been asked not to use its
\nland for wood production anymore. Kalla said Perhutani should now
\nfocus on its non-logging business activities such as ecotourism.<\/p>\n
In addition to a logging ban, Kalla said that the government
\nwould also gradually increase reforestation efforts in Java.<\/p>\n
He said reforestation funds for this year, which stood at Rp
\n1.2 trillion (US$142 million) to replant 300,000 hectares of
\nwooded area across the country, would gradually be raised to Rp 8
\ntrillion to cover one million hectares in 2005. He did not
\nspecify how great were the funds allocated for reforestation in
\nJava.<\/p>\n
Forest accounts for only about 5 percent of Java's total land
\narea -- far below the ideal of 20 percent to 30 percent. Even so,
\nmuch of this small, forested area in Java has been destroyed by
\nillegal logging.<\/p>\n
Kalla said the logging ban and reforestation should increase
\nwater reserves on the island, where more than half of Indonesia's
\n212 million people lived.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim
\nsaid on Monday that without a significant change in direction
\nwater in Java would continue to deplete while the population
\ncontinued to grow; therefore, a water crisis was imminent.<\/p>\n
This year alone, Java is estimated to suffer a water deficit
\nof 13 billion cubic meters. Demand for water remains at 38
\nbillion cubic meters, while Java can supply only 25 billion cubic
\nmeters.<\/p>\n
"Thus, we must reduce farming and plantation activities in
\nJava, and relocate them outside Java," he said, adding that the
\ntype of agriculture to be moved away from Java would be the
\nvariety that absorbed water, such as rice farming.<\/p>\n
Nabiel went on to say that land conversion must also be
\nstopped, while reforestation should be carried out immediately.<\/p>\n
On the same occasion, Kalla said the government had started on
\nMonday the distribution of 1,800 tons of free rice to farmers
\naffected by drought in 18 regencies in Java.<\/p>\n
He said the government had sent a team of officials to monitor
\nthe distribution of free rice to avoid its misuse.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, much of the rice had not yet reached farmers as
\nof Monday, as promised by the government.<\/p>\n
In Subang, West Java, for example, the distribution of free
\nrice in the regency had yet to materialize due to bureaucratic
\ndelays.<\/p>\n
"We received a fax from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog)
\nearly on Monday. But we have to get permission beforehand from
\nthe Subang administration to distribute the rice to needy areas,"
\nsaid deputy head of Subang Logistics Depot (Dolog) Endi Suhendi.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Bachtiar, the head of Dolog Semarang, Central Java,
\nsaid his office had distributed 600 tons of free rice to its
\nbranch offices in Rembang, Grobogan, Demak, Wonogiri, Sragen and
\nCilacap.<\/p>\n
According to Kalla, the government would distribute a total of
\n20,000 tons of free rice until October, and would increase the
\ndistribution to 30,000 tons if the drought continued until
\nNovember.<\/p>\n
Some 100,000 hectares of farmland have reportedly experienced
\ncrop failure due to the current drought, which has affected about
\n250,000 farmers.<\/p>",
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