Papuan forests 'must be saved'

JAYAPURA, Papua: Papua Governor Jaap P. Salossa has asked governmental agencies and all communities to help save protected forests in the province.

The tropical forests, in terms of area the third largest in the world after forests in Brazil and Zaire, are a major source of oxygen and should be preserved for future generations, the governor said while opening a workshop on ecotourism here on Tuesday.

The workshop, jointly organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature and Papua's Environmental Impact Management Agency, is being attended by 85 participants from governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations and community groups from the Pacific region, including Australia and Indonesia.

The governor said he hoped the workshop would result in an action plan to preserve the region's ecosystem. --Antara