Jakarta – The illegal logging that continues unchecked across Indonesia has had a worse impact on human lives than expected, experts say.

The unauthorized practice has caused a massive loss of biodiversity, particularly in Papua, that could have eventually been useful to human lives, said Barnabas Suebu, the recently elected new governor of the resources-rich province.

"Our awareness of the biodiversity we are losing in this country is very low. Many undiscovered useful substances are gone due to the rampant illegal logging," he told a seminar on the issue Saturday.

Barnabas said beside red fruits that could be used to treat degenerative diseases and as health supplements, there were thousands of unresearched species in Papua that were now facing extinction.

"In other countries, like Mexico and Singapore, their citizens already understand how important forests are to their lives. Forests provide supplies of biodiversity, oxygen and water, which are extremely important," he said.

The Papua governor-elect said millions of hectares of untouched forests that were not yet utilized by indigenous people had been discovered by Greenpeace in his province.

In Foja Mount in Papua for example, scientists recently discovered a pristine area, the natural habitat of new species of plants to animals.

"There should be a balance between utility and conservation to create sustainability," Barnabas said.

Papua is one of several regions in Indonesia under serious threat from rapid deforestation. About 40 million hectares of pristine forests are the targets of illegal logging, in line with the growing demand for high quality timber products across the world, particularly in Europe and North America.

Indonesia annually loses about 2.8 million hectares of forest, according to Asro Kamal Rohan, Antara newswire's director. "Everyday we lose about 7,650 hectares of forest. So we lose about 5.3 hectares each minute." The Forestry Ministry said poor law enforcement was the main reason for the massive deforestation of the country, which suffered annual losses amounting to between Rp 30 trillion and Rp 45 trillion.

An expert from Greenomics Indonesia, Elfian Effendi, told The Jakarta Post "the financial losses from the damaged biodiversity are three to four times more expensive than illegal logging".

The losses could happen on three levels; ecosystem, species and genetic resources, he added. "A ruined ecosystem means that species won't be able to sustain themselves due to the loss of food and water sources." "The government and most people overlook the economic value of non-timber forest products because they do not really develop them," Elfian said.

Experts say biodiversity stores the promises of new medical treatments and cures and the planet's creatures and plants could help humans shield themselves from deadly diseases like AIDS and bird flu.

Scientists from the Biodiversitas group have said preventing emerging diseases through biodiversity conservation is far more cost effective than developing vaccines to combat them later.

Barnabas said Indonesians should plant trees first before they cut any down.

"What happens in Indonesia is the other way around," he said, adding that he would tighten the requirements for forest concessions in Papua.

"We plan to hold a conference on biodiversity in Papua to raise awareness and educate the public," said Barnabas.