Forest rangers in Indonesia's Aceh province will be equipped with guns in the battle against illegal logging, an environmental agency official said Thursday.

The jungle-clad region at the tip of Sumatra island loses some 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres) of more than two million hectares of forest annually due to deforestation, including from illegal timber activities, authorities said.

But the risks of fighting criminal elements had soared with many loggers now carrying firearms, said Aceh environmental agency head Syahrial, who goes by one name.

"Being on duty in the forest without firearms is not only risky but it's also not effective when you're facing illegal loggers (who are usually armed)," he added.

About 120 rangers would be given pistols, rifles and ammunition at a cost of about 1.39 billion rupiah ($93,500), Syahrial said.

"We've coordinated with local police with respect to procurement and permits," he added.

Gun ownership is uncommon in Indonesia outside of military or police personnel and obtaining a personal licence can be difficult.

Aceh's forest rangers once had guns but they were confiscated after a separatist insurgency broke out in the 1970s. The conflict ended with a 2005 peace deal.

This week's decision comes after Aceh earlier announced that poachers who threaten endangered orangutans, tigers and other wildlife could receive up to 100 lashes from a rattan cane.

While public whipping is common in Indonesia's Aceh -- the only region in the world's biggest Muslim majority country that imposes Islamic law -- it is usually reserved for morality crimes.

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Geographers find tipping point in deforestation
Cincinnati OH (SPX) Jan 08, 2020
University of Cincinnati geography researchers have identified a tipping point for deforestation that leads to rapid forest loss. Geography professor Tomasz Stepinski used high-resolution satellite images from the European Space Agency to study landscapes in 9-kilometer-wide blocks across every inch of the planet between 1992 and 2015. He found that deforestation occurs comparatively slowly in these blocks until about half of the forest is gone. Then the remaining forest disappears very quickly. ... read more