Govt to fix forestry rulings

JAKARTA (JP): The government is revising more than 3,000 forestry regulations which it says are ineffective because they do not stipulate clear sanctions for those who violate them, Antara reported on Tuesday.

Junior Minister for Forestry Nurmahmudi Ismail said the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was coordinating the revision of the rules, which include ministerial decrees, to see whether they were still suitable.

Nurmahmudi also proposed that the ministry take over the licensing of companies in the forestry sector from the Ministry of Industry and Trade to ensure timber supply sustainability.

Currently, forestry concessionaire holders are licensed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to produce 22 million cubic meters of wood a year. The combined demand for wood from licensed forestry companies, however, reaches 64 million cubic meters, he said. (02)