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)