Marowali to be made national park

PALU, Central Sulawesi: The provincial administration has proposed that the Morowali nature conservation area here be established as a national park to preserve some of the province's native wildlife species.

"With its natural ecosystem, the Morowali nature conservation area will support the present national parks in the region," a local forestry official, Riwung Toemon, was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday.

The Morowali nature conservation area is located between two subdistricts, Petasia and Bungku Utara, in Poso regency.

It covers 225,000 hectares and is surrounded by Mt. Tokala, Mt. Tambusisi and Mt. Morowali.

The biodiversity in the conservation area must be protected because it contains many species of flora and fauna unique to Sulawesi, Toemon said.

Some native birds which still exist in Morowali are the white- beak sea hawk (haliaetus leucogaster), wild duck (dendrocygna), green and white saffron (ducula aenea), woodpecker, and Maleo.

The area is also home to the Wana tribe, who usually hunt for deer and deer-hog, he said.