 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Indonesia To Offer 17 Million Hectares In News Forest Concessions
Jakarta (AFP) Sep 28, 2006 Indonesia plans to offer some 17 million hectares (42 million acres) of lapsed or unused forest concessions to investors interested in developing timber and farming estates, ministers said Thursday. "We will offer nine million hectares for timber estates from forest concessions which are no longer productive," Forestry Minister Malem Sambet Kaban told reporters. He said the move was aimed at boosting timber production and opening up more job opportunities, with plots to be given out for management for a period of 100 years, which would allow some 15 harvests of trees such as acacias. Some 9.7 trillion rupiah (1.0 billion dollars) from the government's reforestation fund had been allocated to prepare the land on Sumatra, the Indonesian portion of Borneo island, and in Sulawesi. Insitutions to manage the funds would first need to be set up and could start work in November, he said. He did not give details on how the concessions would be determined or under what terms. Agriculture minister Anton Apriyantono, speaking at the same occasion, said that the government was also preparing 8.2 million hectares of land for plantations and agriculture, particularly for palm oil and sugar cane. He said the land had been cleared some time ago and was not virgin forest. The head of the land registry agency, Joyo Winoto, said that about three million hectares would be alloted for palm oil. Environmentalists have warned that the Indonesian government's new drive to focus on producing clean-burning biofuels -- produced from plants such as palm oil -- should not come at the expense of razing rapidly-disappearing forests. Amid soaring global oil costs, Indonesia has been trying to boost its energy security by turning its attention to rapidly expanding production of biofuels.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Save the Forests at Wood Pile Forestry News - Global and Local News, Science and Application
Malaysia To Use Satellites To Save Rainforest
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Sep 27, 2006Malaysia will use satellite technology to fight illegal logging and forest fires nationwide in a bid to protect the country's dwindling timber resources, a report said Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the satellite-based data gathering and monitoring system -- previously used in northeastern Kelantan state -- would provide authorities with a real-time picture of the country's forests. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights 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 |
