41 concessionaires may lose logging rights

41 concessionaires may lose logging rights

JAKARTA (JP): Forty one of 108 concessionaires which operate
industrial forests under a transmigration scheme (HTI-Trans) will
likely lose their annual logging rights.

"If they do not operate industrial forests under the
transmigration scheme, we will not give them annual logging
rights next April," Minister of Forestry Djamaloedin
Soeryohadikoesoemo told journalists after presenting awards to
successful concessionaires here yesterday.

Meanwhile, Director General of Forest Concession Waskito
Suryodibroto said the Ministry of Forestry has so far awarded
logging rights to 67 HTI-Trans concessionaires. The concession
given for each concessionaire ranges from 4,000 hectares to 6,000
hectares.

According to the minister, the HTI-Trans concessionaires are
required to allocate 50 percent of jobs in their areas for local
people and the other 50 percent for transmigrants.

To deal with the problem of locations for HTI-Trans program,
the minister said he has provided concessionaires with conversion
forests. However, the ownership of the lands should be converted
to the people, not to those working in the concessionaires.

Djamaloedin noted that for this fiscal year he has allocated
Rp 19 billion (US$8 million) for HTI-Trans programs. "The
programs must be successful," the minister stated.

He said he will invite the directors of related state
companies responsible for the HTI-Trans programs to what he
called a "business lunch."

"This business lunch is to smoothen communication because if
it is done by correspondence it needs longer time," Djamaloedin
was quoted by Antara as saying. (rid)