Rp 1b lost in Lore Lindu fire

Rp 1b lost in Lore Lindu fire

PALU, Central Sulawesi: Research facilities valued at over Rp 1 billion were burned down in the Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi's largest nature reserve, in early October.

Banjar Yulianto Laban, head of the park, said in Palu on Friday the Kamarora research base sustained the largest loss of the 11 stations destroyed. Only two stations in the park survived, in the villages of Kadidia and Watubose.

The stations, housing flora and fauna research instruments, greenhouses and communications towers, were reduced to ashes when unidentified men set fire to them, apparently in retaliation for having been prevented from carrying out illegal logging in the park.

Lore Lindu forest rangers earlier clashed with a gang of illegal loggers in the protected zone, shooting one of them after the loggers tried to grab their firearms.

The illegal logger who was shot later died, while one ranger, Arifin, received severe injuries after being beaten by the loggers. --Antara