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)