"By May 2012, Indonesia could lose 4.9 million hectares of its forests and peatlands."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has lost some 4.9 million hectares of its forests and peatlands, it was found during a revision of the implementation of forest moratorium, from November 2011 to May 2012, according to an activist.
"By May 2012, Indonesia could lose 4.9 million hectares of its forests and peatlands. With each revision of the forest moratorium, the acreage of forests and peatlands continued to decrease," Yuyun Indradi, political campaigner of Greenpeace, said here on Thursday.
She made these remarks during an expos' on forest cases that needed to be solved immediately in order to assure the effective implementation of the moratorium.
The expos' was done by the Indonesian Forest Salvation and Global Climate Coalition over a period of one year, in connection with the implementation of the moratorium in Indonesia based on the Presidential Instruction No. 10/2011.
Yuyun noted that there had been overlapping between the forest areas covered under the moratorium and the primary forest and peatland areas.
Protected forests and converted forests have already been regulated by a separate provision, but they seem to have overlapped with the moratorium areas, she said.
The protected and converted forests cover an area of 46.7 million. Primary forests cover 8.8 million hectares and peatlands 4.9 million hectares, so the total area of forests protected under the moratorium reach 13.7 million hectares.
"The overlapping of concession areas is 4.9 million hectares, wherein the forests and peatlands can be potentially lost," Yuyun explained.
Campaigner Deddy Ratih of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) said the presidential instruction on the moratorium was not practical and the regional government did not care enough about the implementation of the instruction.
"Up to March 2012, deforestation was still taking place. This happens because monitoring is not effective and the implementation of the presidential instruction is not clear," he added.
(Uu.A014/INE/KR-BSR/S012)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
