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