RI to get ITTO grant for forestry projects

JAKARTA (JP): The government will receive a grant of more than US$2 million from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) for the improvement of wood products and the conservation and rehabilitation of the country's forests.

State Minister of Forestry Nurmahmudi Ismail said on Tuesday that the grant was approved during ITTO's biannual meeting in Yokohama, Japan, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 4.

The Yokohama-based ITTO is an organization of tropical timber- producing countries and consumers ensuring the continuity of timber products from tropical countries, he said.

The organization meets every six months to discuss ways to improve the quality of timber products and forest sustainability, Nurmahmudi said.

The organization's funds are obtained by an accumulation of members' annual fees and from donors in major consumer countries such as the United States and Europe, he said.

"We have to pay $322,000 a year for the membership fee, but we gain $2 million for projects," he said at a media conference.

About $130,000 of the funds will be used to finance the ongoing Bulungan Model Forest Management, $477,433 for research on the utilization of small-diameter logs, $326,523 toward the training of forest concession holders to improve forest management and $853,398 for the management of the Kayan Mentarang National Forest as a transboundary conservation area between East Kalimantan and Sabah, Malaysia, Nurmahmudi said.

ITTO also granted $254,224 to help Indonesia develop a sustainable forest, he said.

"What's good about this grant is that ITTO doesn't require many of their experts to participate in the projects so priority can be on our interests," he said.

Nurmahmudi urged research institutions, such as universities, to hand in their proposals to make use of the funds available every six months.

The next ITTO meeting will be held in May 2001 in Cameroon. (tnt)