Jayapura – With the forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan continually shrinking, Papua's timber fields now face a grave threat, a Greenpeace campaigner for the far-flung eastern province said on Monday.

"Almost nine million hectares of forests in Papua have been identified by the government as expendable in the interest of development of large scale industries," Ricarth Tawaru said.

Ricarth said that land takeovers and clear cutting continued to take place for the development of palm oil plantations, timber estates and mining operations. "These activities pose a serious threat to Papua's forests," he said.

Papua was losing an average of 300,000 acres of forest every year, he added. "Experience in various other regions shows that the changing of forest areas into palm oil plantations and timber estates has created serious social problems, including environmental problems," Ricarth said.

He said that Papua's forests were not only important for the ecosystem but also important as a source of inspiration. Gradually destroying Papua forests was equal to destroying the sources of the Papuan people's cultural inspirations.

"We are concerned about the government's plan to clear Papuan forests as it could separate the local people from their natural resources. We believe that the Papuan people have noble values to protect their forests and are able to cultivate them for their own future," he said.