Govt expands reforestation to 21 catchment areas

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has decided to expand the reforestation program from 17 critical catchment areas to 21 across the archipelago over five years between 2003 and 2007 to help reduce widespread natural disasters.

Deputy Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Farid Husain, in charge of health and environment, said on Friday that the expansion was needed to improve the condition of the critical catchment areas.

"We have raised enough funds to do so," he told The Jakarta Post after attending a meeting on anti-HIV/AIDS measures with other ministries.

The reforestation program will cover 3 million hectares of degraded land and be conducted gradually, with some 300,000 hectares be rehabilitated in 2003, 500,000 hectares in 2004, 600,000 hectares in 2005, about 700,000 hectares in 2006 and 900,000 hectares in 2007.

Farid said the funds would be provided from the reforestation funds, state budget, provincial budgets and other sources.

State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim has repeatedly said the government had allotted some Rp 15 trillion (US$1.67 billion) to carry out the reforestation program for five years.

For this year's program, the government had allocated Rp 1.6 trillion to conduct the reforestation program, Farid said.

The rehabilitated catchment areas in Sumatra this year will cover Ambar Kampas, Tulang Bawang and Way Sekampung in Lampung, Asahan in North Sumatra, Kampar in Riau, Kuantan and Masang Antokan in West Sumatra.

Bengawan Solo, Luk Ulo and Serang Lusi in Central Java, Opak Oyo in Yogyakarta, Brantas in East Java, Ciliwung in Jakarta and West Java, Cimanuk, Cisadane and Citarum in West Java are the catchment areas targeted to be reforested in Java.

In Kalimantan, Barito catchment area in South Kalimantan is the target of the reforestation program this year.

The rest are Jeneberang Klara and Walanae in South Sulawesi, Limboto in Gorontalo and Tondano in North Sulawesi.

Several regencies and municipalities have also been determined as the location of the reforestation program.

For example, in Bengawan Solo catchment area, regencies like Blora, Boyolali, Karanganyar, Grobogan, Klaten, Rembang, Sragen, Semarang, Wonogiri, and Sukoharjo have been named.

"For this year, at least 300 million seeds will be cultivated in the 300,000 hectares of degraded land," Farid said.

The reforestation program will also involve military officers, who will join local people in growing the seeds.

Rampant deforestation, particularly illegal logging activities, have been blamed for natural disasters, such as flooding, drought and landslides, which hit the country over the past five months.

According to the government, between January 2002 and March 2003, there were 229 disasters in the country, claiming more than 505 lives and forcing more than one million others to flee their homes.

The losses due to natural disasters between 1991 and 2000 reached US$17.6 billion.