Logging could wipe out Tesso Nilo, WWF warns

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) warned on Tuesday that one of Sumatra's rainforests could disappear within four years if logging is not stopped.

A recent survey conducted by WWF scientists showed that the 1,800 square-kilometer Tesso Nilo forest in the province of Riau harbors the world's highest level of lowland forest biodiversity, with up to 218 plant species per 200 square meters.

But the conservation organization said heavy logging for timber and pulp could produce "devastating effects on both plant and animal life".

The forest is also home to a wide range of wild animals such as elephants, tigers, gibbons and tapirs.

"This forest could be lost in less than four years if the current rate of logging continues," the WWF said, in a press statement obtained on Tuesday.

It said illegal logging involves communities, bureaucrats, military personnel and global market interests, and persists unchecked in Riau.

"The logging that threatens Tesso Nilo is part of a pattern across Indonesia, where large financially troubled corporations, often with foreign ownership, sell forests for a tiny fraction of their true economic potential and without regard for their biological value."

WWF Executive Director Agus Purnomo asked the government to protect the world's richest forest and said his organization is ready to facilitate all parties to play a role in preventing damage to it.

"We urge the Indonesian government to act now and set aside Tesso Nilo forest as a protected area for the good of future generations," he said, as quoted in the press statement.

The forestry ministry and Riau Governor Saleh Djasit have pledged to crack down on illegal logging.

"This heritage should be safeguarded. I welcome anyone to come to Riau to learn to appreciate the rich local biodiversity. I am prepared to support any party that is involved in coming up with agreeable solutions," Djasit said.

The WWF, headquartered in Gland, Switzerland, also urged consumer countries, particularly the G-8 group of industrialized nations, to stop the international trade in illegal timber.

The organization's survey discovered that Tesso Nilo is much higher than other humid, tropical lowland forests in 19 other countries including Brazil, Cameroon and Peru.