JAKARTA - The rain forest in the Kerinci Seblat national park on the island of Sumatra is disappearing fast. Illegal logging which continues in the area and understaffing at the security department of the national park are pointed to as the main causes. Some 500 hectares of previously untouched forests have now turned into wastelands.
The head of the Kayu Aro Student Movement (IPMKA, Ikatan Mahasiswa Kayu Aro), Roni, together with another member of the movement, Sugita Arianto Serat told that those previously forested areas have now been turned into plantations. An example of this is the forest near the village of Batang Sangit and the Gunung Tujuh forests. Most of the forest has been completely destroyed there.
Other districts report similar conditions. Only the forests directly along main roads are still standing. But this is merely a wall of several dozen meters. "The destruction of the forests is even happening right in front of the observation post at Gunung Tujuh, the forest at just a few meters from the post is almost completely gone," says Sugita.
The Kayu Aro students have asked the Department of Forestry of the Kerinci district to step up actions to protect the forests of the Kerinci Seblat national park. It is known for a fact that it's local residents who are cutting down the forests, since dozens of cubic meters of wood are taken out of the forest every single night. "We urge the local authorities to stop illegal logging before a disaster happens."
"Cutting down trees in the national park is a daily activity. Every single day there are sounds of saws to be heard in the forest. In the evenings the wood is eventually taken from the forest," said Sugiono. "The residents should care about the forest, their own living environment because it will create bigger problems for themselves in the future like flash floods and drought."
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JAKARTA - The rain forest in the Kerinci Seblat national park on the island of Sumatra is disappearing fast. Illegal logging which continues in the area and understaffing at the security department of the national park are pointed to as the main causes. Some 500 hectares of previously untouched forests have now turned into wastelands.
