Vast mangrove area severely damaged

Vast mangrove area severely damaged

PALU, Central Sulawesi: Around 16,000 hectares of mangroves in
Central Sulawesi have been severely damaged over the past 10
years due to rampant use of the trees for charcoal production or
building fish ponds, Antara reported on Sunday.

Central Sulawesi forestry office's spokesman Rahim said that
based on the preliminary result of a recent office study, the
province's 46,000 ha of mangrove forest was reduced to only
30,000 hectares.

Most of the charcoal was sold to Singapore illegally, Rahim
said. The local forestry office finds it very difficult to deal
with the tree cutters under the existing forestry law, he said.

The administration's decision to declare mangrove areas as
regions which may be exploited remains an obstacle in dealing
with the mangrove felling activities, he said.

"The appropriation of mangrove areas as an exploitation zone
is the Central Sulawesi administration's decision which is
currently still effective," he said. (edt)