Salim Group accepts govt's penalty<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Salim Group will accept the decision of the
\nMinister of Forestry to cancel its license to convert 570,000
\nhectares of forests into plantation areas, the group's president,
\nAnthony Salim, says.<\/p>\n
\"We will abide by the government's decision,\" he told
\nreporters after meeting with Director General of Forest Inventory
\nand Utilization Titus Sarijanto here yesterday.<\/p>\n
Minister of Forestry Djamaloedin Soeryohadikoesoemo has
\ncanceled the Salim Group's license due to the fact the group
\nnever began operations in the designated area since the
\nconcession was awarded in 1990.<\/p>\n
Anthony said all of his companies will obey the government's
\ndecisions. An affiliate of his group, PT Alam Nusa Segar (ANS),
\nfor example, temporarily ceased operation at its forest
\nconcession area on Yamdena island in Maluku when the government
\ntold it to cease production several months ago.<\/p>\n
The government decided to temporarily stop the operation of
\nANS on Yamdena after a series of protests from various parties.
\nThe protests were a response to surveys saying that their logging
\nactivities might ultimately cause the 535-hectare island to sink.
\nThe company resumed operation after research showed that there
\nwas nothing dangerous about logging activities on the island.<\/p>\n
Djamaloedin said yesterday that the Riau forest area,
\nallocated for the Salim Group, may not be converted to other uses
\nbecause half of it is a preservation forest.<\/p>\n
According to regulations on biodiversity preservation and its
\necosystem, preservation forests may not be converted for other
\npurposes.<\/p>\n
The Salim Group originally planned to convert the area into
\nplantations for soybean, sugar cane and industrial woods.<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry of Forestry, 30 million hectares of
\nforests will be converted into plantations or locations for
\ntransmigration. But up until now, 21 million hectares of them
\nhave not been converted. (yns)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/salim-group-accepts-govts-penalty-1447893297",
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