Aug 7, 2006, 3:56 GMT
Jakarta - Deforestation in Indonesia has been so severe that it will take 120 years to regain tens of millions of hectares of lost forest, a newspaper reported Monday.
About 60 million hectares, or nearly one-third of the pristine forest across the vast Indonesian archipelago, has vanished in the past 20 years because of overcutting, illegal logging, land conversion, natural disasters and forest fires, The Jakarta Post said, citing Forestry Minister MS Kaban.
Despite being one of the most heavily forested nations with about 130 million hectares, including large swaths of rainforest, Indonesia also has the world's worst deforestation rate at 2.8 million hectares a year.
The Jakarta government loses billions of dollars annually in potential revenue from illegal logging in remote areas where law enforcement is weak. Powerful businessmen with political connections, the military and police are all believed to be involved in illegal cutting.
Kaban told the Post that the government's reforestation efforts could only recover about 600,000 hectares a year, meaning it would take up to 120 years to replace all the vanishing forests.
'But if deforestation continues at the current rate, the recovery time will be even longer,' he was quoted as saying.
The government spends about 330 million dollars annually on reforestation programmes and has made a number of high-profile arrests, but defendants are easily able to buy their way out of trouble and earn acquittals from local courts.
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