Firms' permits revoked for burning forests
Firms' permits revoked for burning forests
JAKARTA (JP): The government revoked 151 wood-use licenses of
29 plantation and timber companies yesterday after they failed to
present documents disproving the government's allegations that
they were responsible for starting brush and forest fires.
The Ministry of Forestry's Director General of Forest
Protection and Nature Preservation Soemarsono said the 29
companies, which included four state-owned companies, failed to
meet Thursday's deadline for submitting evidence to support their
innocence.
The government accused 176 companies last month of violating
strict laws against the burning of forest to clear land.
The companies were given a deadline to present a statement of
denial along with an audit report containing evidence disproving
the allegations.
According to Soemarsono, 110 companies submitted a denial
statement to the ministry, of which only 65 had an audit
attached.
He explained that not all of the companies charged with
burning forest had wood-use licenses and thus only the 151
licenses owned by the 29 companies were revoked by the Ministry
of Forestry.
The government has charged that widespread fires in Kalimantan
and Sumatra have been mainly caused by the land burning methods
conducted by plantation and forestry estates.
The fires have resulted in severe haze enveloping not only
Sumatra and Kalimantan, but also neighboring Malaysia and
Singapore.
More than 30,000 people in Indonesia are reportedly suffering
from respiratory illnesses and eye irritations as a result of the
haze.
The haze has also caused havoc to flights, shipping and land
transportation over the last three months.
President Soeharto himself has apologized to neighboring
countries for the forest fires causing the haze, which has been
declared a natural disaster.
A concerted effort involving international assistance has been
launched to combat the forest fires and haze.
The companies whose licenses were revoked were:
In South Sumatra: timber company PT Pakerin and plantation
company PT Musi Rindang Wahana.
In Riau: timber estates PT Arara Abadi, PT Rimba Lestari, PT
Riau Andan Pulp and Paper and PT Perawang Sukses Perkasa Ind.,
and plantation companies PT Gunung Mas Raya, PT Inti Kamparindo
Sejahtera, PT Kencana Amal Tani, PT Subur Arum Makmur, PT Inti
Indo Sawit Subur, PT Musim Mas, PT Perdana Inti Sawit, state-
owned PT Perkebunan II and PT Sarpindo Graha.
In Jambi: timber estates PT Wana Perintis and PT Wana Kasita
Nusantara.
In Central Kalimantan: timber estates PT Parwata Rimba and PT
Pola Inti Rimba, and plantation companies PT Gunung Sejahtera Dua
Indah, PT Teguh Sempurna, PT Mustika Sembuluh and PT Kridatama
Lancar.
One transmigration contractor in Central Kalimantan was also
named, PT Hanjalipan.
In East Kalimantan: timber estates PT Tanjung Redeb Hutani, PT
ITCI Hutani Manunggal and PT Kiani Hutani Lestari, and plantation
company PT Swakarsa Sinar Sentosa.
In West Kalimantan: plantation company PT Prakarsa Tani
Sejati.
Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said yesterday
that the revocation would be "reviewed" as soon as the companies
submitted their audits to the ministry.
Elaborating on the current state of the fires, Djamaludin said
the latest satellite images showed a decreasing number of hot
spots in the northern part of East Kalimantan, the northern part
of West Kalimantan, and the northern part of South Sumatra and
Lampung.
The haze and forest fires had also been linked to the forest
fires, but Antara reported yesterday rains had started in a
number of areas in Java including Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang,
Semarang and Tulungagung. (07/08/ste/aan)
Anwar -- Page 6