Governor alarmed by deforestation

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)