Ecotourism launched as forest on fire
Ecotourism launched as forest on fire
Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri declared 2002 as the year of
ecotourism at a ceremony in a small village north of Merapi
volcano in Central Java on Thursday just when a forested area to
the south of mountain was being razed by fire.
The forest fire began around 11 a.m. on Wednesday and was
still not under control on Thursday as the President inaugurated
the ecotourism area and the Merapi National Park.
Pakem police chief Comr. Ferro Adi Mahendra estimated that
this week's fire had destroyed at least 100 hectares in the first
24 hours within the protected forest.
The fires could spread to nearby forests and villages if there
is strong wind.
As of late Thursday, a joint team of local police and the
rescuers were on alert around the Nirmala Lake, some 3 kilometers
from the site.
Apparently due to the fire, the President did not bother to
inspect the southern part of the volcano. She, instead, spent her
time observing the landscape from a hill in the regency of
Magelang for 30 minutes.
She was accompanied by her husband Taufik Kiemas, Tourism and
Cultural Affairs Minister I Gede Ardhika, Home Affairs Minister
Hari Sabarno, Environment Minister Nabiel Makarim and Energy and
Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro.
Megawati arrived at the location at noon to inaugurate a
monitoring post and observe some photographs featuring the
volcanic activities of the Merapi volcano.
She also watched live video from the top of the volcano via a
remote camera. The President also had a look through a telescope
at the huge mountain.
Central Java Governor Mardiyanto said in his speech that the
opening of an ecotourism area connecting Surakarta, Selo and
Borobudur was aimed at improving the economy of the local people.
Solo is known for its Javanese kingdom, Selo for its hill station
areas, and Borobudur for its Buddhist temple.
Mardiyanto said that the development of the tourism belt
between the Merapi Volcano and the Mount Merbabu had been
established in 1974 during the leadership of Governor Munadi.
The opening of the tourism area, he said, was expected to
promote natural resource and culture conservation around those
mountains. It is also expected that the tourism area will
complement the Borobudur Festival scheduled for June 11 next
year.
Local residents have expressed strong rejection of the park
for fear that they would not be allowed to exploit resources from
the area if it were protected, but local government officials
insisted, arguing that the national park was necessary to protect
an important ecosystem that was being rapidly destroyed.
Local officials however, assured residents that they would
still be allowed to cut grass for their cattle in the park.
At least two people were arrested following a rally in
Boyolali against the park development on Thursday.