Forestry workshop opens

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Association of Forestry Entrepreneurs, in conjunction with the British-Indonesia Tropical Management Project's Overseas Development Agency, launched a four-day forestry training workshop yesterday.

Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said in a written address at the commencement of the workshop that such training was necessary to improve the quality of human resources involved in sustainable forestry development.

Ministry of Forestry Secretary-General Oetomo S. said that currently 33,145 people were employed by the government's forestry offices and state-owned forestry firms across the country, of whom 15.5 percent had only elementary school education, 11 percent had junior high school education, 60.8 percent had graduated from senior high school or forestry colleges and 12.5 percent were university graduates.

Private-sector forestry companies employed more than 79,000 people, he said.(pwn)