Government to crack down on natiowide illegal logging
Government to crack down on natiowide illegal logging
JAKARTA (JP): The government will launch a joint operation to
crack down on rampant illegal logging which causes up to US$4
billion in losses every year, Justice and Human Rights Minister
Baharuddin Lopa said on Thursday.
Lopa said that President Abdurrahman Wahid had instructed the
forestry department to lead the operation.
"The cabinet meeting has decided that illegal logging can no
longer be tolerated because these activities cost us billions of
dollar in losses every year," Lopa said after a Cabinet meeting
at the Bina Graha presidential office.
Lopa said the operation would involve law enforcement and that
the government would bring to justice "not only those who are
directly involved on the ground, but also the masterminds".
"We will be taking resolute action against those who have been
masterminding and financing illegal logging," Lopa asserted.
He said the joint task force would involve the National Police
chief, the Indonesian Military chief, the Attorney General and
Lopa himself.
Forestry minister Marzuki Usman, who was also present on
Thursday, said that the operation would be carried out in stages,
with the first phase focusing on Leuser and Tanjung Puting
national parks on Sumatra and Kalimantan islands respectively.
Illegal logging, already rampant during the regime of former
president Soeharto, has intensified following his fall and the
onset of the economic crisis which has been affecting the country
since mid-1997.
Marzuki said that the government would also move to prevent
any return of devastating forest and brush fires which have
caused extensive destruction of the country's forests in past
years as well as blanketing the region with hazardous haze.
He said the extensive forest fires that hit the country in the
dry season of 1997 caused at least US$9 billion dollars in
losses.
"If we do not handle this together, it is not unlikely that
the fires will occur again," Marzuki said without
elaborating.(byg)