Govt to introduce new timber plantation policy

Govt to introduce new timber plantation policy

JAKARTA: The government is set to issue a new package of
policies on industrial forest estates (HTI) in the next two
weeks, aimed at developing more timber plantations, without
endangering the forests.

Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa made the announcement during a
meeting with a number of entrepreneurs who operate in forest
estates on Thursday.

"The minister initiated the meeting because he wanted to
explore and try to find ways to attract more investors to the
industry," said the chairwoman of the Forestry Industry
Revitalization Agency (BRIK), Soewarni, who attended the closed-
door meeting.

BRIK is an agency established by the Ministry of Forestry and
Ministry of Industry and Trade, but managed by businesspeople, to
find solutions to problems in the industry.

Soewarni refrained from providing details of the new policies.

"The move may alleviate the number of unemployed in the
forestry sector," she said, while referring to a recent
projection by the Indonesia Employers' Association (Apindo) that
some 600,000 forestry workers might lose their jobs this year.

Industrial timber estate companies manage a total of 2.7
million hectares of the country's forests. Such companies have
been blamed for contributing to the destruction of the
environment due to their failure to rehabilitate and sustain
their resources.