Govt stops plan to build road in Kalimantan forest
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Forestry has turned down a politically powerful general's request to build a road through the Kayan Mentarang wildlife reserve in East Kalimantan.
PT Giri Ekawan, a timber firm controlled by Lt. Gen. (ret) Wahono, currently speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), wanted the road in order to transport logs from its nearby government concession.
Minister of Forestry Djamaloedin Soeryohadikoesoemo explained in a joint press conference with State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja yesterday that the building of a road through the refuge would attract settlers who would in turn exploit the forest.
"It is intolerable to develop a road across a conservation forest," Djamaloedin said.
While both Sarwono and Djamaloedin declined to identify the company involved, Suraya Afiff of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (WALHI) said her group had been in touch with Wahono, who acknowledged the proposal.
Suraya told The Jakarta Post by telephone yesterday that the forum fully supports the decision of the two ministers.
"It means that both ministers have tried to be consistent with their previous stance on preserving Indonesia's biodiversity," Suraya said.
Kayan Mentarang is a 1.4-million hectare old growth forest along the border of Malaysia's Sabah state and the province of East Kalimantan. Six logging concessions are in the area.
Djamaloedin said that with the full support of the local administration the timber firm sought his permission to build the road, which would have provided direct access to the nearest port.
He said his Ministry, the State Minister of Environment and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) had set up a team to examine the proposal thoroughly. He also explained that his final decision flew in the face of the team's recommendations.
Recommendation
"The team finally recommended that the Kayan Mentarang wild life reserve should be transformed into a national park with three separate zones," he said, adding that the status of the three zones would have allowed differing degrees of exploitation.
The team also recommended that the concessionaire be allowed to build the logging road through the reserve to the nearest port in East Kalimantan.
According to Djamaloedin, both ministers agreed to turn down the recommendation of the team.
"It's normal for the local administration to help companies and to put forward such a proposal for the sake of local development. But I think it is still too early," he said.
Suraya said that Walhi, one of a number of powerful non- governmental organizations in Indonesia, received a written explanation from Wahono on his role.
According to Suraya, Wahono suggested Walhi wait for the decision of the two ministers.
"I'm sure Wahono will respect this decision," she said, adding that in the past many decisions of the Ministry of Forestry have gone unheeded as "strongmen" can easily overrule them.
She also drew attention to the impact the six nearby forest concessions are likely to have on Karya Mentarang if they continue to operate.
East Kalimantan currently has more than 100 forest concessions, making the province host to the largest number of concessions in Indonesia, which has the third greatest amount of remaining forests in the world. (09)