Illegal logging in Morowali reserve

Illegal logging in Morowali reserve

PALU, Central Sulawesi: Illegal logging has been rampant in the
Morowali Nature Reserve (CAM) in Morowali regency, Central
Sulawesi, over the last three years.

Yusran Zainuddin, an activist of Sahabat Alam Morowali, a non-
governmental organization engaged in nature conservation, said on
Wednesday in Kolonodale, east of Palu, that a recent probe
conducted by the institute had caught a group taking logs out of
the reserve.

"The target areas of illegal logging in CAM are Tandoyado,
Tambayoli and Monu, while the loot is transported by motorboat to
Bungku Tengah and Kolonodale," he said.

A number of Wana tribesmen inhabiting CAM, according to
Zainuddin, have also complained about the frequent whirring of
chainsaws in the reserve, where only eight rangers are assigned
to guard the 225,000-hectare zone.

At least 1,760 people of the Wana ethnic group live in the
Morowali reserve, along with various endemic wildlife species
like anoa (wild dwarf buffalo) and babi rusa (deer-hog). --
Antara