Protected forests are now available for rent

The government has issued a regulation allowing investors to rent both productive and protected forests for business purposes such as mining, oil and gas, geothermal, telecommunication infrastructure, and toll roads.

According to the regulation No: 2/2008, which was signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Feb. 4, the rental rate for the use of productive forests for horizontal open-pit mine is Rp 2.4 million (1US$=9,150) per hectare a year, while that for the use of protected forests is set at Rp 3 million per hectare a year.

The rental fee for the use of productive and protected forests for vertical open-pit mining is set Rp 1.8 and Rp 2.25 million, respectively per hectare, a year. Meanwhile, the rental fee for the use of productive and protected forests for underground mine is set Rp 1.8 million and Rp 2.25 million, per hectare, a year.

For other business purposes such as oil and gas, geothermal, telecommunication, and toll road, the annual rental fee for productive forests is Rp 1.2 million per hectare a year, while that for protected forests is Rp 1.5 million per hectare a year.

The chairman of the national forest council, Hariadi Kartodihardjo strongly criticized the new forestry policy, saying that it was against the Law No 19, 2004, especially those related to mining activities on protected forests.

However, the head of the information center of the ministry of forestry, Fauzi Mas'ud said that the new regulation was much better than the existing one, which required investors to replace twice the size of the protected forests they use in other areas.

"The implementation of the regulation is quite difficult because investors have difficulties to find the areas which will be used to replace the protected forests they use," he said. (*)