Ministry to improve forest and watershed management

The Forestry Ministry is working on a project to improve the management of forests and watersheds throughout the country.

Director general for Rehabilitation and Social Forestry, Indiastuti, said Tuesday the project that commenced in mid 2009 and will run until 2014 in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), would focus on strengthening management capacity at the community level.

Six watersheds, with rich biodiversity resources that are currently in critical conditions, have been chosen as pilot locations for the project.

The six watersheds are located in the Toba Samosir regency in North Sumatra, Lampung Barat regency in Lampung, Wonosobo regency in Central Java, Lombok Barat regency in West Nusa Tenggara, Timor Tengah Selatan regency in East Nusa Tenggara and Sigi regency in Central Sulawesi.

“We will train people living nearby watersheds to enhance their level of knowledge in managing the watersheds,” Indiastuti said. (adh)