Kaltim Change 675 Million Forest To Plantation

SAMARINDA: Integrated Team Revised Land Use Plan recommends the Province of East Kalimantan 675.3 thousand hectares of cultivation area of Forestry (CBC) to Non-Forest Areas Cultivation (KBNK). The amount is approximately 35.88% of the originally proposed area of 1.88 million hectares.

"This recommendation was increased 17.69 percent from the integrated team exposure on 13 October 2009 and which accommodates only 342 square KBNK Kaltim. 117 hectares or only 18.19 percent of the total proposed in RTRWP it," said Governor of East Kalimantan, Awang Faroek Isaac, Thursday .

This was revealed when Awang Faroek Isaac have a meeting with the Integrated Team Revised Revised Provincial Spatial Plan (RTRWP) Kaltim and 14 government district in East Kalimantan at the Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta on November 2, 2010.

"At the meeting, we (pemeritah provincial and district / city) agreed to ask the integrated team to conduct a study to look at the facts on the ground and consider that the society existed long before the designation of forest area and forest cultivation area (CBC) is now a desert weeds and barren land and no more activity in the region, "he said.

"Another thing that needs to be considered ie, permit holder HPH / HTI does not carry out his duties but in reality is retained as the CBC," said Awang Faroek Isaac.

In principle, the Governor further Kaltim, 11 districts have received the results of an integrated team work so had to continue on the public test and submitted to Parliament, while three districts namely Regency, West Kutai and East Kutai, has not accepted the recommendations of the reason is still there are different points of view concerning the substance of the criteria to be KBNK CBC changes.

Although in general have been approved but said Awang Faroek Isaac, East Kalimantan provincial government continue to provide records to an integrated team to make adjustments to various considerations, both aspects of biophysical, legal and social.

"We hope that the recommendations of an integrated team that can still be changed because the utilization of forest areas can not be avoided as the space requirements for regional development, both for residential purposes, the central government offices, public facilities and infrastructure development and construction of the border as a national strategic area," he said.

"The low percentage of an integrated team also recommended due to the different maps and facts on the ground and support them (unified team) also collided with the applicable legislation, for example, forests can not be used for plantation, but why it can be used for mining which may cause opening of land cover, "said the Governor of East Kalimantan.

Though it still says Governor of East Kalimantan, plantation crops like oil palm, rubber and cocoa can be a land cover.

"We believe, plantation crops provide income and livelihoods and well able to maintain the environment so there needs assessments for the harmonization of legislation in order to become one of the considerations in the use of CBC into KBNK," said Awang Faroek Isaac.

However, the East Kalimantan provincial government will still accept the recommendation of an integrated team to utilize optimally.

"We are optimistic, the recommended land area of an integrated team that can still be changed because there is still public testing process. However, if the land area that is final we will still be used optimally," said the Governor of East Kalimantan. (Ant/OL-3)