Three rivers in Sulawesi disappear

Three rivers in Sulawesi disappear

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: Three rivers in Kolaka regency have
run dry due to deforestation, a local community figure said here
on Saturday.

The rivers are Kumoro, Tonggana and Pelambua, said Pariama
Mboy.

Pariama said the overexploitation of forests in the upper
reaches of the three rivers, which had for years been mined for
nickel by PT Aneka Tambang Pomaala, was the cause of them drying
up.

Shifting cultivation is another reason for the deforestation.

"Forests, which used to sustain water for the rivers, have
been exploited and the rest has been turned into farmland,"
Pariama said.

PT Aneka Tambang Pomalaa spokesman Syamsuddin Haming said the
nickel mining company had reforested areas in Pomaala regency
that had been mined.

The condition of the Kumoro, Tongana and Pelambua rivers has
resulted in a scarcity of water to irrigate rice fields in their
surroundings, Pariama said. -- Antara