And Habet's Ministry has also been challenged by the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations, APAMO. In a statement two weeks ago they expressed a grave concern about what it calls a marked increase in illegal logging activities. Habet says they will not be policed by APAMO:
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
"We listen to APAMO but APAMO is not the only organization that we listen to, there are private sector people that we have to listen to. There are other organisations who are not members of APAMO But we have to realise something. The government is the regulator. We can't make the NGOs tell us exactly what to do, how to police us. We set the policies. Of course, we have to have the inclusion, the stakeholder meetings and bring them in. But everybody has to come in and then then, together, depending on their suggestions and recommendations we can take those into account."
