Huge forest area damaged: Official

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: A government official estimated on Thursday some 450,000 hectares of forest in East Kalimantan had been damaged or destroyed annually through illegal logging and plantations.

"The distance between one tree and another has become wider in about 450,000 hectares of forest, suggesting a huge number of trees have disappeared from the area," said Robian, the head of East Kalimantan's Forestry Office.

The province currently has 14.6 million hectares of forest. -- JP