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Indonesia blames WWF for forest fire in Jambi
The forestry ministry is blaming the environmental group for forest fires in a conservation area in Jambi.
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After the fire: Three locals stand near a pond in Orang Kayo Hitam Forest Park (Tahura OKH) in Jambi, which needed to be restored after a blaze in 2015. (JP/Syafrizaldi)
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n a move that may weaken environmental protection in the country, the Environment and Forestry Ministry has terminated a contract with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia, blaming it for forest fires in a conservation area in Jambi.
Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar issued a decree about the termination on Jan. 10 to notify the group, which has been a major pillar in the country’s environmental efforts for decades. The contract was supposed to last until 2023.
WWF Indonesia has confronted the decision, calling it a “one-sided settlement” by the government.
"We questioned the ministry: Why did they terminate the contract? We never got a direct answer," Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the advisory board chairman of WWF Indonesia said in the press conference on Wednesday.
He said he regretted that the ministry did not provide a chance for both parties to communicate in advance, while the group said the major decision had damaged its 50-year reputation of supporting wildlife conservation in Indonesia.
Even though the foundation stated that their programs outside the forestry sector are not affected by the development, it explained that those with links to the forestry ministry should be ended immediately.
"We have the total of 130 projects from Aceh to Papua. There are 30 projects involving 19 percent of our total budget that would be impacted by this partnership termination," said Alexander Rusli, the management board chief of WWF Indonesia.
