Forest police look to community

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: An official said on Sunday that forestry police in the province have adopted a wholly new approach in safeguarding the forest by asking for more participatory involvement from the local community.

"The old program called Jagawana and other programs failed because they didn't involve the local community and in the process raised conflict. Therefore, we have to get on with a new paradigm," the head of the Lampung Forestry Agency Syamsuddin Rachmat told Antara.

Officials, he said, will also conduct a more persuasive approach with the local community instead of more repressive techniques.

Community involvement, he added, is necessary because the number of forestry police officers are limited.

There are only some 300 officers to guard over one million hectares of forest in Lampung.

The percentage of forest damage in the province is relatively high, with an estimated 50 percent of protected forest and industrially planted forest already damaged. Some 40 percent of natural reserve forests are also damaged.(hdn)