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)