Forestry Education Incentive Raised

Monday, 17 December, 2007 | 17:45 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The incentive for forestry education in 2007 has been raised to Rp250,000 from the previous year's Rp150,000 per month.

“We must continue trying to improve the performance of instructors,” said the Forestry Minister, Malam Sabat Kaban, in his opening speech during the transfer of operational vehicles for tutor officers in Manggala Wana Bakti Building, Monday (17/12).

During the event, the Forestry Department handed out 400 two-wheel operational vehicles to forestry instructor officers from throughout Indonesia.

With the additional 400 vehicles, the total of vehicles now already handed out amounts to 1,350 units, while the number of forestry instructors in Indonesia totals 4,059 people.

“We also need provincial and regency governments to support the mobility of the tutors,” said Kaban.

The duty of forestry instructors up to 2009 is a war campaign against illegal logging.

“The Forestry Department's priority is eradicating illegal logging in the state's forests,” he said.

During the 1990s, said Kaban, Indonesia's forests suffered degradation amounting to 1.8 million hectares per year.

“Now the damage has been reduced to 1.08 million hectares per year,” he said.

The general public must be directed to be more aware of the environment.

“If we want to make people plant trees, we must do it first, as an example,” said Kaban.

GABRIEL WAHYU TITIYOGA