RI to get ITTO grant for forestry projects

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)