MOU on environmental management for Irian Jaya signed

Related parties in Irian Jaya, including foreign companies operating in the province, have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve environmental management in the province, according to the head of the Irian Jaya Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda), H.E. Mackbon.

He said in a statement that the MOU was signed by representatives from PT Freeport Indonesia, BP Indonesia, the Association of Indonesian Forestry Businesses, the Institute of Science and Technology Jayapura, World Wide Fund, and the U.S. aid agency, USAID.

"This MOU aims to implement various programs including the human resource development, institutional capacity, information system and the improvement of people's participatory," Machbon said.

He added that the MOU would be followed up by operational cooperation agreements that would cover the various programs and their timetable for implementation. (*)