One Day Before "Moratorium" Deadline, Indonesia Grants 3 Million Hectares Of Forestry Concessions

[hatrack]

Indonesia's Minister of Forestry granted nearly 3 million hectares of plantation forestry concessions the day before the country's president was due to sign a decree establishing a two-year moratorium on new logging licenses, reports a new analysis by Greenomics, an Indonesian environmental group.

Greenomics says minister Zulkifli Hasan signed away 2.9 million hectares of forest land to 44 companies on December 31, 2010. Most of the concessions are on secondary forest lands, although some primary forest was also involved, according to Greenomics. Roughly 1.2 million hectares of natural forest was granted in Papua (Indonesian New Guinea), while 1.03 million hectares was located in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo).

"Of the 1.2 million hectares , 883,500 will be granted to 3 companies for the development of plantations to supply the pulp industry," said Greenomics Indonesia Executive Director Elfian Effendi in a statement. "This means that the natural forest in these concessions will be felled to provide raw material for the pulp industry."

Greenomics says forestry plantation licenses were also granted in Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, West Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, West Sumatra, South Sumatra, Jambi, Gorontalo and Bangka Belitung. "The new Minister of Forestry Decree was signed on 31 December 2010. So, it is reasonable to assume that it was intended to save the 44 companies from having to comply with the moratorium regulations." said Elfian.

EDIT

http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0125-indonesia_new_concessions.html

[CrispyQ]

1. Sad.

"I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had, during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you aren’t actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with its surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply, and multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague, and we... are the cure." ~Agent Smith

[Nihil]

2. That is one of the most appropriate quotes that you will find. (n/t)

:-(