ACEH, INDONESIA — The sound of bulldozers and chainsaws breaks the silence of what was once a vast swath of rainforest in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Now, the land is scalped and upended, awaiting the planting of palm oil saplings. Environmental activists are concerned about an Aceh government plan they say opens protected forest areas to logging, mining and palm oil plantations. Officials in the central government have tried to ease fears, saying the plan will affect only a small fraction of the protected forest, said Mas Achmad Santosa who oversees legal affairs for the presidential working group monitoring forestry development. “Yes, it will be reduced, but not as much as of the amount reported publicly," he said. "We also encourage the governor to initiate his environmental assessment study. Then it’s easier for the governor to make a decision: where the economic activity should be put, where areas should be conserved, should be protected, something like that.”
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:11:13 +0000
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