Govt Urged To Lift Regulations Flouting Forest Moratorium

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The Coalition of Civil Society has called on the government to lift recent regulations that contradict the country's moratorium on the issuance of new forest permits.

"Forest moratorium and protection will not materialize if the government issues contradictory regulations. Government regulations No. 60 and 61 of 2012 have the potential to result in the shrinkage of forests protected by the moratorium," Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner Yuyun Indradi said here on Thursday.

The Coalition of Civil Society, which consists of many environmental organizations, has been making efforts to encourage forest conservation.

"Our aim is to ensure that there is no forest conversion, which is in line with the country's moratorium on issuance of new forest permits," Yuyun stated.

The executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Abetnego Tarigan, said the recent regulations were meant to whitewash violations of the forestry law.

"We know that permits have been issued to 23 companies to manage 360,860 hectares of forests, which is in gross violation of the forestry law. With the enforcement of the two recent regulations, the permits will be protected against lawsuits," he pointed out.(*/T007)