Fastest pace of deforestation in the world: Indonezia

       [May 05] JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia had the fastest pace of deforestation in the world between 2000-2005, with an area of forest equivalent to 300 soccer pitches destroyed every hour, Greenpeace said on Thursday.

    "The next generation of Indonesians will not see any forest if no action is taken by the government to deal with the problem," Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaigner Bustar Maitar told a news conference.

   Photo:
 An Indonesian villager cuts timber illegally at a forest in Indonesia's Aceh province April 25, 2007. Indonesia had the fastest pace of deforestation in the world between 2000-2005, with an area of forest equivalent to 300 soccer  

    Hapsoro, an Indonesian Greenpeace forest campaigner, said "It is a national shame for Indonesia to own this distinction in the record books. These record rates of destruction make Indonesia not only the fastest forest destroyer but also the world's number one greenhouse gas polluter from deforestation."

    Greenpeace has used the "award" tactic in the past, notably with the "Golden Chainsaw" prize, which was awarded in 2005 to Blairo Maggi, Governor of the State of Mato Grosso. At the time Maggi, known as the "King of Soy", was one of the largest destroyers of the Amazon rainforest.


    Indonesia's high rate of forest loss is largely the result of poor forest management and corruption. Each year thousands of hectares are illegally logged for timber and burned to establish oil palm plantations.

   The Guinness World Records had approved a proposal by Greenpeace that Indonesia's forest destruction be included in its 2008 record book to be published in September this year, said Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner Hapsoro.  
  Displaying a replica of the certificate from the global authority of records, he said the citation from the publication would read: "Of the 44 countries which collectively account for 90 percent of the world's forests, the country which pursues the highest annual rate of deforestation is Indonesia with 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) of forest destroyed each year between 2000-2005."