600 firms want to convert forests into plantations
600 firms want to convert forests into plantations
JAKARTA (JP): More than 600 companies are currently lining up
for government permits to convert forest areas into agricultural
plantations, Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said
here yesterday.
But he said that the government had no intention of granting
permission to all of them.
"It's understood that plantation commodities have a high
economic value, and that everything must be done to boost
exports. But it must be remembered that forests are important
natural resources," he told reporters on the sidelines of a
hearing with members of the House of Representatives' Commission
IV on agriculture and forestry.
In the past three years, he said, more than a million hectares
of forest have been converted into agricultural plantations, most
of it for palm oil.
"If we give all the 600 companies permission to open up
plantations, we would be giving up more than 6 million hectares
of forests," Djamaludin explained.
He said it is difficult to give permission to a company which
proposes an area that overlaps with existing concessions. But it
is easier if the proposed plantation area complies with a local
site plan, he added.
Land under cultivation, particularly for palm oil, has
increased rapidly in the past few years.
The Ministry of Agriculture announced late last year that it
plans to increase rubber production to more than 1.51 million
tons this year from 1.46 million tons in 1995; coconut production
to over 2.72 tons from 2.54 million tons; palm oil production to
more than 4.55 million tons from 4.36 million tons; and coffee to
over 468,000 tons from 460,460 tons.
The total areas of palm oil plantations expanded by 4.4
percent from 1.89 million hectares in 1994 to 1.97 million in
1995. The expansion rate was faster than other major plantation
commodities.
Palm oil production grew by 7.7 percent from 4.36 million tons
in 1995 from 4.07 million tons in 1994.
Djamaludin acknowledged yesterday that the government itself
still needs to "harmonize" its understanding of the function of
Indonesia's forests.
"If all the ministries had a common perception on the
importance of forests for environmental conservation, it would be
easier to handle this issue," he commented. (pwn)