Deforestasi di kawasan taman hutan raya (Tahura) murhum Sulawesi Tenggara=Deforestation at murhum preservation forest South East Sulawesi Province

ABSTRACT: Murhum Preservation Forest (Tahura) is one of the preservation areas in South East Sulawesi Province that have been highly deforested because the place is near housing settlement. This study aims to find out the deforestation level in Tahura Murhum area including the factors that influence public knowledge about deforestation. The survey method was used for this study. Randomized sampling technique and questionnaire were used for data collection by involving 200 respondents, namely people in Tahura Murhum area. Besides, data are collected from interview with staffs of the Forestry Institution of the South East Sulawesi Province and the related institutions as such as observation and documentation at the study area. Data analysis was done by frequency table and cross table. The analysis was done to identify the relation between people's knowledge on deforestation and the factors that influence it. The results indicated that deforestation in Tahura Murhum since 2002 - 2005 is relatively high, that is 124,36 hectare/year. While public knowlegde about deforestation is low or just 74% of the respondents. This case is caused by low level in educatio