Governor alarmed by deforestation

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: Governor La Ode Kaimuddin is alarmed by the rapid deforestation in the area.

"Forest destruction continues at an alarming rate. This shows that supervision is not optimum," he said in a meeting with provincial forestry officials here yesterday.

Kaimuddin pointed at what happened with the thousands of hectares of teakwood forest on Muna island. The local government's lack of supervision has allowed theft and now only several thousand hectares of thin forest remains.

The governor warned that the province may eventually lose all its forests unless local governments improve supervision. He said the authorities should not hesitate to punish thieves.

"The provincial government recently revoked the operation permit of an errand forest concession holder. This (action) should serve as an example of good law enforcement," he was quoted by Antara as saying. (pan)