Indonesia's Forests Falling At Six Soccer Fields Per Minute - AP

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"Vast tracts of forests are disappearing in Indonesia at a rate of six soccer fields a minute, while lowland forests on the island of Sumatra may be gone by 2005 because of illegal logging, environmental activists said Wednesday.

High demand for cheap illegal timber products _ mostly from Western consumers buying baby cribs and garden furniture _ coupled with rampant corruption and weak law enforcement are driving the forest destruction, said Amalia Firman from the Indonesian Forest and Media Campaign.

"If we can't lessen the demand or strengthen law enforcement and clean up the government, we'll lose all the forests in Sumatra," said Firman, speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on illegal logging organized by the Foreign Ministry.

The forestry ministry proposed a decree earlier this year to crack down on illegal logging by applying the death penalty to illegal logging and allowing for quicker prosecution of cases and confiscation of equipment used in the illicit trade. But Minister of Forestry Muhammad Prakosa was quoted by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday as saying that President Megawati Sukarnoputri has refused to sign the decree at least until after the Sept. 20 presidential election because of the "possible impact on the social and political situations." He didn't elaborate."

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http://asia.news.yahoo.com/040908/ap/d84vcjto0.html