Govt to allow Yamdena logging, despite protests

Govt to allow Yamdena logging, despite protests

JAKARTA (JP): The government will not resile from its decision
to permit state-run forestry company PT Inhutani I and privately-
owned PT Mohtra Agung Persada to exploit forest concessions in
Yamdena, Maluku, despite protests from the Association of
Tanimbar Intellectuals and local people.

Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo told a press
conference at his office here yesterday that he would not change
his decision on Yamdena.

"I respect the opinion of others, including those disagreeing
with the exploitation of Yamdena. However, after considering all
aspects, I have decided not to change my decision," Djamaludin
said.

A delegation from the Association of Tanimbar Intellectuals
presented arguments against continued logging on the island on
Wednesday.

In a statement made available to the Jakarta Post, the
association argued against the government's granting new timber
licenses to Inhutani and Mohtra, saying that it would destroy
Yamdena's forests with their unique flora and fauna.

Meanwhile sixteen village heads in Yamdena have signed a
petition opposing the entrance of Inhutani to Yamdena island,
Antara reported from Ambon, Maluku, yesterday.

Hubertus Samangun of the association said that his group had
undertaken a study regarding the feasibility of exploiting
Yamdena's forests in cooperation with the Soil and Climate
Research Center in Bogor, West Java.

"The results show that logging activities in Yamdena are not
feasible for social, economic, cultural and environmental
reasons," Hubertus said.

Djamaludin said that logging by Inhutani and Mohtra would not
destroy all of the island's forests.

Not dangerous

Quoting a study conducted by the agriculture school of Ambon's
Pattimura University, Djamaludin said there was nothing dangerous
about logging on the island as long as the loggers followed the
principles of sustainable forest management.

Djamaludin said that the results of the research showed that
the logging would be harmless if concessionaires felled only 10
out of every 68 trees with diameters of over 60 centimeters per
hectare.

"Inhutani and Mohtra will not cut down trees with diameters of
less than 60 centimeters. So, it is selective logging, not clear
cutting," Djamaludin said, adding that he had reduced the
concession areas by more than 50 percent from 159,000 hectares to
77,000 hectares.

Djamaludin said logging in Yamdena was not meant to destroy
the island's bio-diversity but to help develop the area, which,
he said, had been left behind in comparison with Indonesia's
western provinces.

Hubertus, however, questioned the validity of the research
conducted at Pattimura University, saying that the results of the
study had never been published and did not refer to the results
of a previous study conducted by his association.

In 1992 and 1993, PT Alam Nusa Segar, a company affiliated
with the powerful Salim Group, carried out logging on the tiny
island. Its activities were halted after a series of protests
from local people.

The ministry of forestry then issued a ruling temporarily
suspending logging on the island and commissioning a review of
the feasibility of further logging there.

After the Pattimura University research gave a green light to
logging on Yamdena, Minister Djamaludin gave permission to
Inhutani and Mohtra to exploit the forest.

Djamaludin said that the majority of Yamdena's native people
agreed with the exploitation of parts of their forests by
Inhutani and Mohtra. The exploitation itself would start in
August, he said. (rid)