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Comment: Forestry businesses seek clarification on law

March 15, OnlineThe business community has called on the government to issue clarification on the implications of the Constitutional Court’s recent decision to change an article in the Forestry Law at the request of local governments from several regencies in Kalimantan

The Jakarta Post

Thu, March 22, 2012 Published on Mar. 22, 2012 Published on 2012-03-22T11:53:26+07:00

M

arch 15, Online

The business community has called on the government to issue clarification on the implications of the Constitutional Court’s recent decision to change an article in the Forestry Law at the request of local governments from several regencies in Kalimantan.

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) deputy chairman for plantations, Rudyan Kopot, said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the change in the law had caused confusion and uncertainty regarding plantation and mining companies’ ownership of forest areas.

Your comments:

Yes, the forestry law needs to be clear without any ambiguity. Nevertheless, there are many areas, especially in the drier east of the country designated by law as permanent forest areas or reserves with no trees standing on them.

Still these areas cannot be used for any other purposes of land use because of the law. Is it not high time that a detailed inventory of forest reserves is made to determine other allowable uses of land that has long been denuded of its original forest?

Has the government (central and local) not spent billions of rupiah on geographic information systems with satellite analysis capability to do such a job in a relatively short time?
Henry Manoe
Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara