S. Sumatra receives 8.5M euros in aid

S. Sumatra receives 8.5M euros in aid

PALEMBANG, South Sulawesi: The South Sumatra forestry office
received 8.5 million euros from the European Union to improve its
forest conservation efforts, in recognition of their successful
prevention of forest fires over the past five years.

The fund must be used to its utmost for the province's forest
conservation efforts, said South Sumatra governor H. Rosihan
Arsyad on Monday.

As the dry season approaches, provinces in Sumatra gear up to
face the annual forest fires and bushfires. The ensuing haze
often pose a serious health problem across many cities on Sumatra
and in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.

Rosihan also called for tighter conservation efforts, saying
that South Sumatra's forests had made a significant contribution
to the local economy.

Locals, however, have so far neglected the principles of
sustainability when exploiting forest resources, Rosihan said,
referring to the United Nations sustainable development campaign.

He said the rate of forest destruction had gotten worse, due
in part to increasing illegal logging activities. He added that
the local administration was working to adopt a more
comprehensive strategy in order to stop the illegal loggers. --
Antara