On public debate

On public debate

Barring unforeseeable circumstances, a public hearing on forestry will be held on March 2. The meeting will take place at the Sahid Jaya hotel in Jakarta and many members of the community -- either people with a direct interest in the subject to be discussed or those without such an interest but with a deep concern regarding forest conservation matters -- are expected to be present.

The involvement of two prominent personalities in the meeting -- Minister of Forestry Djamaloedin Soeryohadikoesoemo, who will open the meeting, and former environmental minister Emil Salim, who will preside over the debate -- is an indication that this will be a serious event. The debate, according to Emil, is designed to find a consensus among the parties concerned regarding the matter of forest management and utilization.

Any open debate such as this deserves welcome provided that it truly involves community participation and absorbs the views that actually prevail in society. As an idea, this debate may be viewed as an effort to lift the discussion of forestry affairs out of the confinements of specialized groups, such as forestry businesses, the forestry ministry and forestry experts.

Considering its impact on the community, the management of our forests is too great an issue to be left to the discretion of logging concessionaires. Indiscriminate logging, for example, benefits the logger but has huge negative effects on the community.

-- Republika, Jakarta