Rizal gets serious about reforestation program<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin has instructed all
\nregents and mayors to speed up reforestation programs in their
\nareas, using the Rp 28 billion in reforestation funds allocated
\nby the central government last month, according to the head of
\nthe provincial Forestry Ministry Office Darori.<\/p>\n
After meeting with the governor, Darori told The Jakarta Post
\non Wednesday that the governor had told him to coordinate with
\nregional administrations to deal with environmental problems in
\nthe wake of recent floods.<\/p>\n
Citing Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare Yusuf Kalla in
\nhis visit to flood-hit areas on Tuesday, the governor said that
\ndeforestation had triggered the floods, which affected more than
\neight districts in the province.<\/p>\n
The floods left four people dead and 10 people were reported
\nmissing.<\/p>\n
Minister Kalla asked the North Sumatra administration to
\nmanage the forests better, so as to prevent more floods in the
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
Darori admitted that the forests in the province had been
\ndestroyed, blaming forest concession holders who had improperly
\nturned the forests into plantation sites.<\/p>\n
\"A total of two million hectares of forest have been converted
\ninto plantation estates,\" Darori said.<\/p>\n
Records held by the Forestry Ministry office indicate that, as
\nat April 20, 2001, North Sumatra had a total of 3,675,918
\nhectares of forest, 1,034,909 hectares of which - located in 11
\nregencies and mayoralties - were declared to be in critical
\ncondition.<\/p>\n
\"The most severely damaged forests are located in Karo, South
\nTapanuli, Mandailing Natal and Dairi,\" Darori said.<\/p>\n
He said that the exploitation of forests by concession holders
\nhad been illegally backed by Forestry Ministry officials and
\nsecurity officers.<\/p>\n
\"Financial problems have become the main constraint for the
\nForestry Ministry in conducting reforestation. Therefore, in the
\nfuture, regional administrations (regents and mayors) will be in
\ncharge of reforestation programs starting this month,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Thirteen regencies and mayoralties have received reforestation
\nfunds as part of the central government's 2001 budget.<\/p>\n
Mandailing Natal received Rp 9,843,684,200, Nias
\nRp 3,989,685,000, Labuhan Batu Rp 3,375,879,900, North Tapanuli
\nRp 2,375,879,900, South Tapanuli Rp 2,454,987,900, Dairi Rp
\n1,853,165,400, Central Tapanuli Rp 709,335,900, Karo Rp
\n472,011,600, Deli Serdang Rp 195,133,300, Langkat Rp 477,183,700,
\nSimalungun Rp 787,170,200, Asahan Rp 187,222,500 and Toba Samosir
\nRp 569,578,000.<\/p>\n
In a separate interview, the deputy speaker of the province's
\nLegislative Council Hasrul said that regents and mayors should
\nspend the money in a transparent manner. \"They must work hard to
\nimplement the programs. The money should be used properly based
\non the programs, therefore public accountability on the use of
\nthe money will be needed.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rizal-gets-serious-about-reforestation-program-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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