Indonesia has 113 million hectares of forest

Indonesia has 113 million hectares of forest

JAKARTA (JP): The latest satellite photographs show that
Indonesia currently has 113 million hectares of forest, including
81 million hectares of productive forest holding 2.4 billion
cubic meters of timber, a minister says.

Minister of Forestry Djamaloedin Soeryohadikoesoemo told
reporters after meeting with President Soeharto yesterday that
preliminary results of research into the nation's forested land
using satellite photographs indicates that Indonesia has 64
million hectares of productive low-land forests with an estimated
1.8 billion cubic meters of timber and another 17 million
hectares of highland timber with 535.9 million cubic meters of
wood.

Indonesia, with financial assistance from the World Bank and
the Japanese government, began its study in 1992. The current
program will be completed in 1996.

"We used to claim that we had 141 million hectares of forests.
It turned out that only 80 percent of the estimated area holds
forests," the minister said.

"So what we're going to preserve in the second long-term
development plan period is not 141 million but 113 million
hectares," he said.

According to previous data from the Ministry of Forestry, out
of 141 million hectares of forest, 64 million are productive,
while the rest are allocated as preserves, tourist attractions or
conservation sites. Forest concessionaires on the 64 million
hectares are subject to stringent regulations, including
requirements to replant trees.

Djamaloedin said yesterday that with the new figures at hand,
he estimated that timber companies could produce 38.4 cubic
meters of timber annually.

"We don't need to worry because our target for production is
29 million cubic meters of timber each year during the second
long-term development plan," he said.

Djamaloedin, however, stressed the importance of relocating
timber processing facilities from Sumatra and Kalimantan to the
easternmost province, Irian Jaya, where most concessions are
located.

The minister again explained that timber firms should spur the
development of local industries and build their wood processing
factories close to concession areas.

Indah Kiat

In a related development, Djamaloedin said that the government
has agreed to allow 128,000 hectares out of the 570,220 hectares
of forests in Riau province to be used by PT Indah Kiat Pulp &
Paper to supply its pulp plant.

He noted that initially the government had planned to convert
the 570,220 hectares into sugar cane, soybean and palm oil
plantations.

The original plan had been delayed for the last four years on
the grounds that areas are rich in peat, which is not suitable
for developing such a plan.

Meanwhile, Indah Kiat's pulp and paper factory in Riau is in a
dire need of raw materials after its expansion.

Djamaloedin said Indah Kiat has only 70,000 hectares of
productive forest, not enough to meet the voracious appetite of
the mill.

In a bid to help Indah Kiat, he said the government will
authorize the owners of the 128,000 hectares to cut all of the
trees there.

"Logs with a diameter of over 50 centimeters could be sent to
the plywood companies, while the smaller ones, which are usually
burned into ashes, should be supplied to Indah Kiat," he said,
adding that the ministry will talk with the local administrations
to decide whether the areas will be transformed into palm oil
plantations or soybean fields. (09)