Indonesia may lose a forest soon

[Guest guest]

http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/02/02052002/ap_46301.asp

 

Forest with high biodiversity threatened by logging,

says WWF

 

Tuesday, February 05, 2002

By Associated Press

 

GLAND, Switzerland — An Indonesian tropical forest

with the largest variety of lowland forest plants

known to science could be destroyed within four years

if the current rate of logging continues, the World

Wide Fund for Nature said Monday.

 

The organization called for the 1,800-square-kilometer

(390-square-mile) Tessa Nilo forest on the island of

Sumatra to be set aside as a protected area.

 

" Tessa Nilo is being heavily logged for timber and

pulp by both small-scale illegal loggers and an

international corporation, with devastating effects on

both plant and animal life, " WWF said.

 

WWF said a survey carried out by its scientists in the

forest found 218 varieties of fernlike plants in a

single 200-square-meter (2,152-square-foot) area. That

is twice as high as the number found in other parts of

Sumatra and higher than similar forests in other

countries.

 

Tessa Nilo is also home to a wide range of wildlife,

including elephants, tigers, gibbons, and tapirs.

 

WWF said the problem of illegal logging in Tessa Nilo

was similar to that in many parts of Indonesia, with

large corporations destroying forests without

considering their biological potential. Solving the

problem would involve communities, bureaucrats,

military personnel, and global market interests, it

added.

 

" The Minister of Forestry has committed to crack down

on illegal logging. WWF believes that in Tessa Nilo,

Indonesia has a good opportunity to show how such a

commitment can be fulfilled, " the organization said.

 

It also called on industrialized nations to halt the

trade in illegal timber and make a commitment to buy

timber only from legal sources originating in

sustainably managed forests.

 

Copyright 2002, Associated Press

 

 

 

 

Send FREE Valentine eCards with Greetings!

http://greetings.