Govt says no new permits for natural forest conversion
Govt says no new permits for natural forest conversion
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Forestry and Plantations has
stopped the issuance of new permits to develop natural forests
for logging, plantations and other forestry-related industries.
Moch. Toha Bratakusumah, the head of the ministry's planning
agency, said here on Wednesday that the suspension of all new
applications for the conversion of natural forests would last for
at least two years.
"The suspension will continue until a national program for
forest management has been approved within the next two years,"
he said.
He said all applications received after May 22 would be
rejected, and those which were still being processed would be
reevaluated.
The existing permits could be revoked if the owners did not
develop their areas, he said, adding that there were 1,896
applications for forest conversion licenses within the last 20
years, and that 259 had been granted involving an area of 1.87
million hectares.
Only 1.5 million hectares had since been replanted, he added.
The suspension was decided upon in line with Indonesia's
commitment at a meeting of the Consultative Group on Indonesia
(CGI) earlier this year to prevent further damage to Indonesia's
forest areas, Toha said.
He said that of 41 million hectares of forest which had been
licensed for logging or plantation activities, about 18.3 million
hectares (45 percent) still consisted of primary forests, 11.6
million hectares (28 percent) were badly damaged and 11.1 million
hectares (27 percent) slightly damaged.
Toha said some 2.2 million hectares of the country's 12.5
million hectares of protected forests, and 3.7 million hectares
of 17.3 million hectares of conservation forest land were no
longer being logged.
He said that during the last decade, deforestation had reached
a rate of 1.6 million hectares a year due to exploitation,
conversion, plundering, fires and cultivation activities.
"The number will continue to rise unless we can put a stop to
it," Toha said.
Head of the Center for Forestry and Plantation Planning Boen
Muchtar Purnama said the national program on forest management
was a program to conserve as well as optimize the utilization of
forest products.
"It would be a base for forestry activities for all sectors,"
he said.
The program has to be approved not only by the government but
also by provincial administrations, non-governmental
organizations and provincial legislation councils. (10)