Ministry calls for end to tree felling in C. Sulawesi forest
Ministry calls for end to tree felling in C. Sulawesi forest
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The forestry ministry has called on tribal people who have been
resettled in the Lore Lindu National Park (TNLL) in Central
Sulawesi to stop illegal logging in the tropical rain forest in
the park to maintain the ecosystem in the province.
"The forestry ministry and the TNLL agency are looking for a
solution to the illegal logging problem and concrete measurements
to maintain the ecosystem inside and outside the national park,"
Koes Saparjadi, chief of the information center at the forestry
ministry said in a news release, a copy of which was made
available to The Jakarta Post here on Saturday.
Koes also called on all interest groups in the national park
to return to their June 2001 commitment on the resettlement and
natural conservation program in order to avoid degrading the
forest further.
"The TNLL agency and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment
(Walhi) agreed to resettle tribespeople in the national park in
order to empower local people.
"But the tribespeople should comply with all conditions
required to support sustainable development to preserve the
environment, otherwise any environmental deterioration will
certainly cause natural disasters in the province," he said.
Koes was responding to friction between the TNLL agency and
the local office of Walhi over the environmental deterioration
resulting from illegal logging in the national park.
"Friction would not occur if all sides, especially the
tribespeople, comply with the joint commitment," he said.
In protest against the rampant illegal logging in the national
park, the TNLL agency chief ripped up a certificate he was
awarded by Walhi for his meritorious efforts in supporting a
sustainable development program in the national park. He blamed
Walhi, which initially proposed the resettlement program, for the
illegal logging.
He said Walhi had promoted the resettlement program in the
national park to seek financial aid from foreign donors.
The problem arose when some 1,030 families from several tribes
who were resettled in Dongidongi area cut down big trees,
threatening the ecosystem in the province. So far, 3,800 hectares
of tropical and rain forest in the park have been cleared for
farmland.
According the June 2001 agreement, each tribal family is given
two hectares of land but no large trees on the land are to be
felled. Trees outside the area have been cut down and the wood
sold.
Koes warned all sides, especially local people, of the
national park's important role in maintaining the ecosystem,
saying the national park played an important role in preventing
flood and landslides in the province.
"The national park functions as a catchment area to maintain
water sources for the people in the province. Locals will be
under the threat of flood and landslides should illegal logging
continue," he said.