 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Jakarta (AFP) Feb 1, 2011 Indonesia admitted Tuesday that hundreds of mine and plantation companies are operating illegally on Borneo island, and promised to beef up law enforcement to protect forests and threatened species. The forestry ministry made the startling admission that less than 20 percent of plantation companies and less than 1.5 percent of mining firms had official operating permits in Central Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side of Borneo. "There are only 67 plantation companies out of 352 that operate legally in Central Kalimantan province, while there are only nine out of 615 mine units that operate legally," the ministry said in a statement. The findings were released after an investigation by a task force set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to look into the "forest mafia" -- networks of miners, planters and officials blamed for rampant illegal land clearing. It found that violations of laws designed to protect Indonesia's forests, home to endangered species such as orangutans and tigers, had "become widespread in a number of regions, especially in Central Kalimantan province". Indonesia is the world's third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, due mainly to deforestation by the palm oil and paper industries, which is fuelled by corruption. A University of Indonesia study last year concluded that the Indonesian military acted as coordinator, financier and facilitator for illegal loggers in Borneo, where deforestation rates are among the fastest in the world. The forestry ministry promised to stop issuing new plantation and mine permits in the province and to cooperate with the Corruption Eradication Commission to enforce the law. Yudhoyono has been under pressure from environmentalists to implement a promised two-year moratorium on the clearing of natural forest and peatland, which was due to begin January 1. Norway agreed in May last year to contribute up to $1 billion to help preserve Indonesia's forests, in part through the moratorium. Environmentalists accused the government last month of granting massive new forest clearing concessions to companies on the eve of the moratorium.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Forestry News - Global and Local News, Science and Application
Global Pacts Like REDD Ignore Primary Causes Of Destruction Of ForestsNew York NY (SPX) Jan 27, 2011 A new study issued by some of the world's top experts on forest governance finds fault with a spate of international accords, and helps explain their failure to stop rampant destruction of the world's most vulnerable forests. The report suggests that global efforts have too often ignored local needs, while failing to address the most fundamental challenge to global forest management-that d ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
