Rethink peat-area project, Walhi says

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) called on the government yesterday to reconsider its plan to convert one million hectares of peat moss areas in Central Kalimantan into rice production areas, saying the megaproject is both off-target and environmentally degrading.

Lili Hasanuddin, coordinator of the organization's forestation campaign, said in a written statement yesterday that Kalimantan is not suitable for a food production development project.

He said that the existing agricultural system employed by local farmers was invented in order to adapt to the natural condition of Kalimantan; a change in the farmland would also affect production.

He also cited previous government efforts to develop paddy fields for the local Dayak tribes, which failed because the methods employed were not compatible with natural conditions.

The government planned to convert the peat moss areas into rice producing fields due to the decrease of agricultural land in Java.

Lili questioned whether the plan was worthwhile, since land in Java is the most suitable for food production.

He suggested that the government reconsider the project, as well as its whole approach toward the question of food producing areas, given the current practice of turning fertile areas in Java into industrial, housing and tourism areas, which include golf courses.

"No less than 30,000 hectares of agricultural land in Java are turned into industrial and housing areas every year," he said, adding that food production decreases by at least 650 tons a year.

Inventory

Lili also said that the government has yet to make a vigorous inventory of the flora and fauna in Central Kalimantan's peat moss areas, as is required in any development project. Given this oversight, he said, the project should not have proceeded.

The project, launched in January, is a threat towards the local ecosystem, he said. It will also threaten the existence of some natural wealth, such as a tree known locally as ramin, which could only live in the peat moss areas, he said.

Lili pointed out that peat moss is the source of livelihood for many primates, including orangutans and proboscis monkeys. "During famine, the vegetation on peat moss land is the means for those primates' survival," he said.

"Once the land is damaged, it's irreversible. It will affect the animals' and plants' chances of surviving," he said.

The forum's statement was issued to coincide with a hearing of the House of Representatives' Commissions IV and V -- which oversee agriculture, transmigration and public works -- with officials in charge of the megaproject.

The officials said they were optimistic about the project, although they also admitted some misgivings. Widarbo, the director of resettlement at the Ministry of Transmigration, said there were difficulties in "evacuating" the primates in the forests surrounding the peat areas. (16)