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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Indonesia: Business as Usual as Doubtful Forestry
Practices Continue
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
http://forests.org/
12/7/97
OVERVIEW,
SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE
Fourt-five
of the 144 timber exploitation licenses that were revoked
during
the Indonesian forest infernos have been reinstated. The
permits
allow companies to make use of the timber and wood from areas
that
have been converted into plantations, timber estates or
settlement
areas. It is unclear whether they will
face any sanctions
at
all. Its business as usual as the
Indonesian forest liquidation
"fire
sale" continues apace.
g.b.
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TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Jakarta reinstates 45 permits revoked for
forest burning
violations
Source: Agence France-Presse
Status: Copyright 1997, contact source for reprint
permissions
Date: Tuesday, December 2, 1997
JAKARTA,
Dec 2 (AFP) - Indonesian authorities have reinstated 45 of
144
timber exploitation permits held by companies that were revoked in
October
following widespread forest fires, a report said Tuesday.
The
permits were returned to the companies after they met requirements
for
clearing land and forest areas without fire and for possessing
adequate
equipment, personnel and funds to do so, the Antara news
agency
quoted a senior forestry official as saying.
The
forestry ministry's director of forest exploitation, Sugeng
Widodo,
said that 36 of the reinstated permits were held by timber
estate
companies and nine by plantation companies.
The 45
permits were held by 21 companies.
The
Antara news agency said the permits of three companies linked to
timber
baron Muhamad "Bob'" Hasan were among those reinstated.
On
October 3, Indonesia revoked a total of 151 timber permits held by
29
companies suspected of using fire to clear their concessession for
new
planting or expansion.
Of the
144 revoked in October, not 151 as reported earlier by the
ministry,
Widodo said 99 had yet to be reinstated.
The
permits allow companies to make use of the timber and wood from
areas
that have been converted into plantations, timber estates or
settlement
areas.
The
government has blamed forestry and plantation companies for most
of the
forest and ground fires which have raged around the country for
most of
the year, causing a thick smoke haze that has blanketed the
region
and caused serious air traffic disruptions and health problems.
Widodo
however did not say whether the companies were still facing
legal
sanctions for the slash and burn practices that caused the
companies
to lose their permits in October.
The
authorities said earlier that they were investigating the 29
companies
for damaging or polluting the environment following the
fires
on their concession areas.
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