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)