20,000 condemn Aceh deforestation

20,000 condemn Aceh deforestation

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Fri, April 26 2013, 8:13 PM


An online petition against forest clearance in Aceh has the support of 20,000 netizens.

As of Friday, the petition at http://change.org/selamatkanAceh, had drawn 20,200 signatories both from Indonesia and abroad.

A team led by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan is currently discussing the forest conversion proposals. The government via the ministry’s secretary general, Hadi Daryanto, denies that it has given approval for the conversion of 1.2 million hectares of protected areas stipulated in the draft Aceh spatial planning bylaw.

A signatory to the petition, Muhammad Fathahillah Zuhri, said, “Tanah Naggroe is not our ‘endatu’ (ancestor)’s heritage. It belongs to future generations and we have to protect its balance.”

Kadek Wahyu Adi Pratama said, “The forest is our future. There are so many lives that depend on forests. They are human beings, animals, plants, and many more.”

Change.org communication director, Arief Aziz, said it was now one of the biggest petitions they had ever had.

“The petitioners also plan to meet either Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan or the Aceh governor,” said Arief, on Friday. (ebf)