When Nature and Fortune Collide

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Given the heated debate around the issue of a moratorium on forest conversion, the decision to turn Bonani Nani Wartabone National Park in Gorontalo into a commercial venture is sure to set off considerable controversy. The government is convinced that by giving mining concessions to a number of big players, environmental damage in this national park can be minimized. But the criticism keeps pouring in. Small-scale miners feel their livelihood is being taken away while environmentalists worry that the local fauna will have their habitat further reduced. Why do the National Park Council and the Forestry Ministry seem so powerless? A Tempo English exclusive report from Gorontalo, Sulawesi.

. tempo : 178042859648.

ROSMAN Hulukati is no stranger to the nighttime. No longer young, he is still strong enough to face the dark and cold of the forest in the Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, Gorontalo. It takes about five hours to walk through the forest to reach the place from the gate of the park in Tulabolo village, East Suwawa subdistrict, Bone Bolango regency.

“All day and all night, there are always people excavating. We take turns in entering pits,”

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