Riau forests to disappear by 2007

Riau forests to disappear by 2007

PEKANBARU, Riau: The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) predict that the forests in the province would disappear in the coming five years unless rampant illegal logging is halted.

WWF spokesman M. Onny Setiawan, said here on Friday that the condition of most forests in Riau had reached an alarming level since the relevant authorities have done nothing to control rampant illegal logging.

"The forests in the province can be maintained only if the illegal logging is halted, otherwise the forest will disappear by 2007," he said.

Illegal logging has been rampant in Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Tiga Puluh National Parks, with timber supplied to sawmills and pulp industries in the province, causing annual floods and damage to the habitat of rare animals such as Sumatran tigers, elephants and rhinos.

In addition, an average of 2,000 hectares of forest area has been converted annually into plantations and farmland over the last 15 years. -- Antara