US$38m from EU for Leuser Park

US$38m from EU for Leuser Park

JAKARTA (JP): The European Union has pledged to provide US$38
million to support Indonesia's efforts to save the Leuser
National Park in Aceh, Minister of Forestry Djamaludin
Soeryohadikusumo said yesterday.

The grant, to be disbursed over seven years, will be provided
to the Leuser International Foundation, which was established by
prominent Aceh figures last year.

The funds will be used to rehabilitate the park, develop
ecotourism and train forest rangers, small-scale handicraft
entrepreneurs and farmers that benefit from the park, Djamaludin
said.

"Tourists will be made to feel at home not by putting them up
in first class hotels but rather by accommodating them in
residents' clean houses," he told journalists after meeting with
President Soeharto.

The ecotourism to be developed at the national park aims not
only at preserving the flora and fauna but also to help improve
the local residents' well-being, the minister said.

The 850,000 hectare park is well-known for its richness in
biodiversity. It is home to numerous protected animals, such as
elephants, two-horned hippopotamus, Sumatran tigers and
orangutans.

It is the habitat of numerous plants, including six species of
durians. As a tourist spot, it is highly unique in that it
combines beaches, swamps, rain forests and mountains.

Under threat due to ignorance and neglect, the landmark of the
western-most province is a popular place for jungle trekking,
rafting and mountain climbing. It has also been well-known as a
research location.

Government officials say that damages to the park's ecosystem
and forests have been largely caused by the local people's poor
knowledge of the importance of the environment, the activities of
forest concession holders and slack supervision.

Djamaludin said the government would intensify the supervision
of activities by forest concessionaire near the national park.

Tighter supervision of the logging activities are necessary to
make sure that forest concessionaire holders will not encroach on
the park, he added.

The minister and the President also discussed ways to control
the burning of wood waste, such as off-cuts from timber
production, during the upcoming dry season, so as not to pose
environmental problems.

The burning of wood waste sparked widespread smog last year in
several provinces in Sumatra, where there is no pulp factory, he
said. (pan)