Indonesia: Poor Spatial Planning jeopardizes forests

Poor spatial planning, a booming carbon market and a slump in
productivity are the major obstacles facing Indonesia’s natural
forests this year, a discussion heard Friday. Speakers at the
discussion agreed the global economic downturn would speed up the
destruction of forests as foreign `buyers’ increasingly turn to
cheaper wood products, encouraging illegal logging activities.

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“The most worrying trend now is plans by local administrations to
convert massive areas of forests into industrial areas. Almost all
regencies outside Java have proposed for spatial planning changes to
allow them to convert forests,” the Indonesia Association of Forestry
Concessionaires (APHI) deputy chairman Nana Suparna said.

Fear of the
economic crisis has driven local administrations to push the proposal
forward to quickly assist struggling local economies. Data from the
association showed the total area of natural forests continues to
decline from 61 million hectares in 1992 to only 26 million hectares
last year.

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