Conservation forest endangered

Conservation forest endangered

PEKANBARU, Riau: The Teso-Nilo forest area in Riau, Sumatra,
proposed as a conservation site for elephants, faces total
devastation due to intensive logging by both forest
concessionaires and the local community.

Antara reported on Wednesday that the once fertile region had
been transformed into a barren area after being utilized as a
timber estate to support the operation of a paper mill there.

Some workers had planted acacia seedlings, while many others
cut and transported the logs via a newly opened corridor.

Not far from the location, a group of local community members
had done the same thing.

The Teso-Nilo forest area was classified as a "limited
production forest" where only the logging of certain trees is
permitted.

The proposal to reclassify the forest as a conservation area
was made by Riau's natural conservation office (KSDA) and World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia.

Despite support from residents in the districts of Pelalawan,
Indragiri Hulu, Kampar and Kuantan Singingi, the Ministry of
Forestry in Jakarta has not given a green light to the proposal.

"The area proposed for the conservation site covers 120,000
hectares," said Purwo Susanto, an executive of the elephants
conservation project at WWF Indonesia. (08)