Minister Promises Fast Issuance Of Forestry Business License

Jakarta, Sept 11 (Antara) - Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan has promised fast, easy and transparent issuance of forestry business licenses in an effort to increase the competitive edge of the forestry sector. To support the facilities, the minister inaugurated an online license information service at the Ministry of Forestry Building here on Wednesday. "With the online information technology-based services, the Ministry of Forestry is determined to continue improving its services and remove its slow, costly and too bureaucratic images," the minister said. He said that the inauguration of the online services marked the ministry`s efforts to increase its effective, transparent and accountable services to the people. Thus, information on the requirements for obtaining forestry business licenses, the length of time needed and the cost could be accessed through the online system. Some 48 million hectares of production forests in Indonesia continue to be neglected, according to the Forestry Ministry. Regarding forest conditions in the country, the minister has said earlier that there were concession forest areas which lied neglected. The neglected forest category consists of 33.6 million hectares of forest concession (HPH) areas and 12.5 million hectares having moratorium status, with the remaining areas being covered by natural production forests. While addressing a national workshop on the future of production forests in Indonesia, the minister noted that production forests cover 77.83 million hectares in Indonesia, accounting for 59.29 percent of the country`s total forest cover. Of the total forest cover, he continued, approximately 30.9 percent, or 24.1 million hectares, were currently being managed under the Natural Forest Utilization Business License (IUPHHK-HA), or forest concessions (HPH). "Reduced coverage of production forests managed under forest concessions/ecosystem restoration concession (HPH/RE) led to an increase in the area of neglected production forests, because the conditions of such forests continues to deteriorate," the minister pointed out, adding that the rising numbers of HPH holders that remained idle or could not operate also resulted in the increased acreage of neglected production forests. Even though their licenses have not yet expired, many HPH holders are inactive. "Of the total 294 HPH holders, only 115, or 39 percent, are still operating. The remaining ones have stayed idle, or are not active," Hasan said.