Only 10% of forest crimes taken to court

JAKARTA (JP): The Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation, Soemarsono, said the government managed to prosecute in only 10 percent of forest crimes last year.

Soemarsono said yesterday the forest security team reported more than 700 forest crimes last year.

He said in most cases the court fined or imprisonment the offenders.

Soemarsono was speaking after a signing ceremony where the Japanese Embassy awarded a US$41,050 grant to the Cipta Citra Lestari Indonesia Foundation to conduct a project aimed at protecting biodiversity in Irian Jaya.

The foundation, established in 1995, is a Jakarta-based non- government organization (NGO).

Foundation representative Jatna Supriatna and the Japanese Embassy's charge d'affaires, Norio Hattori, signed the agreement.

Soemarsono, who witnessed yesterday's signing ceremony, said the project would support the province's local government master plan.

The master plan, which will identify the function of each area in the province, is being drawn up.

Soemarsono said the project was a follow-up to a workshop on biodiversity conservation held in Irian Jaya in January.

The foundation organized the workshop in conjunction with Washington-based NGO Conservation International, the Indonesian Institute of Science, the Irian Jaya Development Planning Agency, Cendrawasih University and the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation.

Yance de Fretes, Conservation International's Irian Jaya Program Coordinator, said the project would identify which parts of Irian Jaya had overlapping functions and which were potential conflict areas.

"Irian Jaya is a land rich in biodiversity but also in mining resources. These two functions practically stand opposite each other, so we must figure out which parts of the province suit which functions best," he said.

Yance said he disagreed with the slack criteria of using land suitable for agricultural purposes.

"Land fertility is basically the only criteria needed to conduct agricultural activity ... This, for example, will easily endanger biodiversity in that area," he said.

Yance said the project would result in biodiversity maps, the application of a geographic information system, workshops, technical assistance and skills training. (pwn)