Friday, March 14, 2008
Palu to Build Urban Forest Tourist Site, Study Center
Source: The Jakarta Post
Ruslan Sangaji

Palu city in Central Sulawesi will initiate its urban forestry program on a 500 hectare area in and around the city, says city council chief Mulhanan Tombotutu.

Mulhanan said the project would be sponsored by the municipality in cooperation with the Partnership for Governance Reform and the Sulawesi Community Foundation.

The Palu urban forest, added Mulhanan, would be part of a forest buffer zone which would be jointly developed by the municipality, private sector and the community to be a tourist area, a production forest and an environmental study center.

"We are currently forming a team to (plan the forest) and determine the money needed to (make it possible)," he said.

Sulawesi Community Foundation executive director Muhammad Rifai told The Jakarta Post recently the government had so far only dedicated two areas in the country as pilot projects for urban forest development: Palu and Yogyakarta.

Palu, said Rifai, was an appropriate choice given its distinct geographic conditions, human and natural resources as well as demonstrated commitment to forestry concerns.

"We hope the urban forestry program will have positive impacts, not only on environmental sustainability, but also in generating income for the community and municipality," said Rifai.

City data indicate the conservation area in Palu allocates almost 5,800 hectares (14.6 percent of the total) to ecotourism and natural forest reserve areas and 7,100 hectares (18.1 percent) to protected forest. Its forest cultivation areas include an exclusive production forest area of 4,400 hectares and auxiliary use areas of 22,200 hectares (56.2 percent).

Palu is located along the bay facing the Makassar Strait, an international shipping route, and has a coastline from north to west spanning 50 kilometers.

The city has a dry season from April to September and a rainy season from October to March, with rainfall ranging between 400 and 1,250 milliliters annually.

Palu is in Donggala regency, which has an area of 39,506 hectares and consists of four districts and 43 subdistricts.