Regents banned from allowing logging

JAMBI, Jambi: Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban reiterated on Saturday that regents were no longer allowed to issue logging permits to forestry companies.

Regents who defied the ban by continuing to permit logging in their regions would face stern sanctions, Kaban warned.

"Regents are not authorized any more to issue logging permits. Their authority has been revoked because it has made the destruction of the forests worse," Kaban said in Jambi.

He ordered the government to strictly enforce government regulation No. 36/2004 on the eradication of illegal logging and to report regents it found producing logging permits.

"I also urge people to make a report directly to us if there is a regent or a governor involved in illegal logging," Kaban added. --Antara