RI to host workshop on forestry conservation

RI to host workshop on forestry conservation

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will host a debate next month on forest conservation programs in Asia, bringing together business executives and environmental activists as well as community leaders and government officials.

The March 2-8 meeting, billed as a public hearing, will be hosted by the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation in cooperation with the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development.

Foundation chairman Emil Salim said yesterday that the hearing will look at the conflicts between various stakeholder groups and development of the region's forest resources.

Emil, a former environmental minister, said the hearing will provide a forum for transparent discussion of politically sensitive issues that are constraining efforts to develop and conserve the region's forests.

The primary objectives of the hearing will be to work towards consensus between various stakeholder groups on target areas for policy and institutional reform, he said. "It is also to examine socioeconomic and environmental trade-offs between various policy options."

The results of the meeting and similar hearings held in other parts of the world will be incorporated into Global Forests, a book expected to be published in 1997, he said.

Some 25 commission members, including co-chairmen Emil Salim of Indonesia and Ola Ullsten of Sweden, 45 panel members and 100 participants are expected to take part. (imn)