Government asked to limit forestry minister's powers

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry Marzuki Usman, reiterating his commitment to protecting the country's forests, said here on Monday that he would ask President Abdurrahman Wahid to issue a presidential decree limiting his ministry's authority in managing the country's forests.

He said that under the proposed decree, the forestry minister would have to consult with other concerned parties, including non-governmental organizations and foreign parties, before exploiting forest resources or converting forests to commercial use.

He blamed the rampant damage to the country's forests on the fact that the forestry minister had been given too much power in managing them.

"It's very important that the President soon issues a presidential decree. I will ask the President to do so because such power (vested in the minister) is very dangerous for forest resources," he told reporters after speaking at an international conference on the conservation of commercial tropical trees sponsored by the International Tropical Timber Organization at Gadjah Mada University.

Marzuki officially opened the conference. Foreign speakers and participants came from Oregon State University and the Australian National University, as well from European and Southeast Asian countries.

He said the country's deforestation rate had reached between 1.5 and 1.6 million hectares per year, which was mainly the result of illegal logging, excessive logging, uncontrolled forest cultivation, timber theft and forest fires.

Around 20 million hectares of the country's 120 million hectares of forest had been damaged, he added.

Marzuki also said that the government would adopt a persuasive and educative approach, including conducting information campaigns, rather than repressive measures to curb deforestation.

"No more arrests (by police), no more burning trees (by companies). We have to leave the past methods behind us or otherwise our forests will soon be totally destroyed," he said. (44)