Orangutan habitat under threat

PANGKALAN BUN, Central Kalimantan: Illegal timber workers have damaged the 5,000-hectare central area of Tanjung Puting National Park, the official rehabilitation center for orangutans.

Head of the 415,050-hectare park Suherty Reddy said on Tuesday that the number of the illegal timber fellers grew to hundreds operating in various spots, such as the rivers of Buluh Besar, Buluh Kecil, Pembuang Hulu and Sekonyer, over the past five months.

"The damage will soon spread to the other areas currently used by international scientists," Reddy warned.

Spokesman for the provincial administration office Harun Al Rasyid admitted that his office was unable to stop the pillaging of the wood.

He said Governor Warsito Rasman urged the local authorities to meet with all legal and illegal timber enterprises, wood cutters and community leaders to explain about the existence and function of the park, Antara reported.