GOVT TO RESTRICT FORESTED LAND USE

Jakarta, Feb 19 (ANTARA) - The Forestry Ministry will restrict the use of forested land for non-forestry activities to achieve the government-set target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent in 2020, an official said.

Under the policy, the ministry would only approve 80 percent of applications to use forested land for non-forestry activities, the chief of the ministry's working group for climate change, Wandojo Siswanto, said here on Friday.

He said the 80 percent was bargainable, depending on the situation and condition in the field.

"It is possible all the incoming applications will be 100 percent rejected or the other way around," he said.

Forested land is normally used for non-forestry activities such as mining concessions and towers under lease-for-use contracts.

Data from the ministry's directorate general of city planning show in the 2005-2009 period the ministry issued 159 licences to use 126,121 hectares of forested land for non-forestry activities under lease-for-use contracts.

Wandojo said steps would also be taken to control the conversion of forested land into other purposes.

In the future the conversion of forested land into other purposes would be based on a structured plan rather than on a proposal as it was the case now, he said.

The move was designed to reduce deforestation rate without disrupting development activities in other sectors, he said.

"We are still discussing the matter with regional governments because we also consider their capacity and preparedness in allocating their forested land for non-forestry activities," he said.