27 Dec 2010: Analysis Indonesia’s Corruption Legacy Clouds a
Forest Protection Plan Norway and other nations have vowed to
invest billions of dollars to help preserve Indonesia’s
remaining tropical forests. But can foreign involvement stem the
tide of graft and uncontrolled logging that has steadily
decimated one of the world’s largest areas of rainforest? Flying
over the Indonesian half of the island of New Guinea, rainforest
stretches like a sea of green, broken only by rugged mountain
ranges and winding rivers. The verdant canopy shows little sign
of human influence. But as you near Jayapura, the provincial
capital of Papua, the tree cover becomes patchier — a sign of
logging — and red scars from mining appear before giving way to
the monotonous dark green of oil palm plantations and, finally,
grasslands and urban areas. The scene is not unique to
Indonesian New Guinea; it has been repeated across the world’s
largest archipelago for decades, partly a consequence of
agricultural expansion by small farmers,