EL NINO AFFECTS FORESTRY CONSERVATION

Yogyakarta, Aug 7 (ANTARA) - The ministry of forestry called on the general public to watch out for the El Nino weather phenomenon and the accompanying drought, because they can cause fire in protected forests may pose an obstruction to successful raising of industrial forests.

"An El Nino storm may destroy forests in Java island and Nusa Tenggara, and the atmospheric phenomenon needs to be watched out because it may trigger a long dry and arid season," Forestry Ministry secretary general Boen Purnama said on the sidelines of a coordinating meeting with the forest and development research agency here Thursday.

He said forested areas in Java and Nusa Tenggara and other dry areas may be threatened by El Nino.

"The forestry ministry along with the National Zoning Coordination Agency has taken precautionary and anticipative measures against the possible impact of El Nino, especially in the protected forests, and a number of efforts in preventing forest damage had been coordinatedly arranged," he said.