Forestry minister stops logging permits

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 04/14/2011

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on Thursday that the government has stopped new concessions for forest production companies for between two to four years.

“We’ve already provided forest concessions to process 26 million hectares of our forests within the last 30 years. We’re not going to give any more concessions for between two to four years,” Zulkifli said during the opening of the third IndoGreen Forestry Expo 2011 at the Jakarta Convention Center.

Zulkifli also called on forest production companies to conduct sustainable forest management.

“With sustainable forest management and the principal of ‘selective logging and replanting’, 26 million hectares is more than sufficient for forestry companies’ timber extraction needs,” he said. (swd)