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