Denpasar (Antara Bali) - Bali's forestry office is currently growing forests of certain tree species to meet the timber needs of local small and handicraft industries, especially those producing wooden sculptures.
"The trees planted in the forest cultivation project consist of mahogany , Bentawas, Panggal Buaya and Trembesi (rain tree) and now cover a total area of 583 hectares," the head of Bali's Provincial Forestry Office , Anak Agung Ngurah Buana, said in Denpasar on Monday.
He said the locations of the cultivated forests were in Jembrana and Buleleng districts.
The trees were planted beside quick-yielding food crops such as corn, cassava and a variety of ground nuts.
Thus farmers would also get an income from the cultivated forests where the timber can be harvested only after at least 10 years, Agung Buana said.
Therefore, if the planting was done continuously on every inch of vacant land, local sculpting craftsmen would always have enough raw material for their activity.
Bali constantly needs enormous volumes of timber as raw material for its sculpting industries which so far are having to buy it from other regions.
Therefore, by cultivating forests of specific trees in many locations it was expected Bali's dependence on raw material from outside the province can be gradually reduced .
The timber plantations would also have a positive impact on the local people's economy, especially of people living around the cultivated forests, Agung Buana said.
Bali has a 130,686 hectares forest area consisting of 95,766 hectares of protected forest (73.28 percent), 26,293 hectares of conservation forest (20.12 percent) and 8,626 hectares of production forests (6.60 percent).
The forest area is only 22 percent of Bali's land area, whereas ideally it should reach up to 30 percent of the island's land territory.
The movement to cultivate forests of selected trees as raw material for sculpture making on critical land was expected to make Bali's air cooler and help preserve the functions of the island's forest areas' ecosystems, Agung Buana said. (*)
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Bali 2010
"The trees planted in the forest cultivation project consist of mahogany , Bentawas, Panggal Buaya and Trembesi (rain tree) and now cover a total area of 583 hectares," the head of Bali's Provincial Forestry Office , Anak Agung Ngurah Buana, said in Denpasar on Monday.
He said the locations of the cultivated forests were in Jembrana and Buleleng districts.
The trees were planted beside quick-yielding food crops such as corn, cassava and a variety of ground nuts.
Thus farmers would also get an income from the cultivated forests where the timber can be harvested only after at least 10 years, Agung Buana said.
Therefore, if the planting was done continuously on every inch of vacant land, local sculpting craftsmen would always have enough raw material for their activity.
Bali constantly needs enormous volumes of timber as raw material for its sculpting industries which so far are having to buy it from other regions.
Therefore, by cultivating forests of specific trees in many locations it was expected Bali's dependence on raw material from outside the province can be gradually reduced .
The timber plantations would also have a positive impact on the local people's economy, especially of people living around the cultivated forests, Agung Buana said.
Bali has a 130,686 hectares forest area consisting of 95,766 hectares of protected forest (73.28 percent), 26,293 hectares of conservation forest (20.12 percent) and 8,626 hectares of production forests (6.60 percent).
The forest area is only 22 percent of Bali's land area, whereas ideally it should reach up to 30 percent of the island's land territory.
The movement to cultivate forests of selected trees as raw material for sculpture making on critical land was expected to make Bali's air cooler and help preserve the functions of the island's forest areas' ecosystems, Agung Buana said. (*)
Editor : Masuki
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Bali 2010