Kutai Park on the decline

Kutai Park on the decline

BALIKPAPAN, East Kalimantan: A local forestry official blames
illegal logging and nomadic farming on the degeneration of
preserved areas at Kutai National Park.

Warsito, the head of the national park, told The Jakarta Post
Friday that the park used to cover 200,000 hectares of nature
preserves. The area has been reduced to 150,000 hectares, he
said.

He said it was difficult to prevent local people from
illegally felling trees or carrying out nomadic slash-and-burn
farming activities as they did not fear the patrolling forest
guards.

"Some of them even dared to use violence against our security
forest rangers because they said they had the backing of some
senior military officers," Warsito said.

Chief of the Bontang District Police, which oversees the Kutai
National Park, Lt. Col. Suparni Parto, said the forest guards are
now equipped with long-barrel rifles to deal with illegal
loggers. (42/imn)