"We plan to rehabilitate 6,295 hectares of land and forests."
Jambi (ANTARA News) - Kerinci Seblat National Park Audience Hall (BB TNKS) said this year it is planning to rehabilitate 6,295 hectares land and forests in TNKS in Kerinci and Merangin, Jambi province, Sumatra Island.

"Yes in October at the latest this year we plan to rehabilitate 6,295 hectares of land and forests in the national park," Head for the conservation of the Sumatra tiger Ir Risdiyanto said in Jambi today.

He said the forest and land rehabilitation funded by the Forestry Ministry`s Regional Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) will be carried out by third parties for which the tender is underway.

"In addition, the program will also be realized with the assistance of the Military, in this case the Kerinci and Merangin military commands, as the forests which will be rehabilitated are located in Mt Kerinci and Batang Merangin," Risdi said.

He added that the rehabilitation project is important because the conservation of the forests is facing problems as the illegal exploitation is still going on.

He said actually various preventing programs had been made by the regency administration since 2010, and it has even been agreed to impose legal sanctions on illegal forest clearing operations, but of the illegal activities still continued.

In the meantime, Risdi said as the result of the forest damage and exploitation, conflicts between wild animals and humans also increased such as in Kerinci and Merangin between man and the sumatra tiger, bears, even elephants and other others.

"Earlier in the two areas there have been no conflicts between the large beasts and people, apparently the animals felt their hunting grounds have been declining due to cutting operations and land clearance in the past five years," he said.
(Uu.H-NG/F001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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