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.