U.S. lauds RI's forestry policies

U.S. lauds RI's forestry policies

JAKARTA (JP): Three U.S. politicians announced their support of Indonesia's recent forestry policies to Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo in Washington on Friday.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbit, Pat Roberts, who chairs the Congressional Agriculture Committee, and Senator J. Bennet Johnston from Louisiana cited Djamaludin's sanctions against forestry concessionaires violating government regulations as positive steps, Antara reported Saturday.

Aside from canceling a number of concession rights, Djamaludin took over 49 percent of the stakes in 28 concessions to guarantee sustainable the management of forests last year.

Djamaludin was in the United States from the end of last month to attend a meeting on sustainable development held by the United Nations, to meet World Bank executives and to brief a number of U.S. officials on the development of Indonesia's forestry sector.

Several American timber companies, such as Weyerhauser and Georgia Pacific, were actively in logging Indonesian forests throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s.

Antara quoted Djamaludin as saying that the World Bank, sensing progress in Indonesia's forestry programs, was offering to extend forestry related aid.

The World Bank, in its 1993 country report on Indonesia, reported that the country's logging activities were above sustainable levels. (hdj)