Mining in forests opposed in court<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Environmentalists testified on Tuesday before the Constitutional
\nCourt about the devastating effects of open-pit mining in
\nprotected forests as they attempted to have a controversial law
\npermitting that practice annulled.<\/p>\n
The environmentalists are challenging the constitutionality of
\nLaw No. 19\/2004, which allows 13 mining firms to resume open-pit
\nmining in protected forests. The government had previously banned
\nopen-pit mining in protected forests under Law No. 41\/1999. But
\nmining firms that had been granted concessions before the
\nissuance of the Forestry Law persuaded the government to exempt
\nthem from the ban.<\/p>\n
The petitioners argued during the first day of the case on
\nApril 5 that the government had decided to allow open-pit mining
\nbased on the excuse of providing legal certainty to investors,
\neven though this was at the expense of environmental destruction.<\/p>\n
Former minister of plantations and forestry Muslimin Nasution,
\nwho was involved in the enactment of the Forestry Law, said it
\nhad been enacted after the government became aware of the
\ndevastating effects of open-pit mining on the environment.<\/p>\n
\"The practice was first allowed by Law No. 5\/1967 (on
\nforestry), as we were focused on attracting as much investment as
\npossible to the forestry sector, often to the detriment of
\nenvironmental interests. But then, we became aware of the adverse
\neffects on the environment and that's why we banned it through
\nLaw No. 41\/1999,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Muslimin said that Indonesia's forests were being rapidly
\ndestroyed, something that was accompanied by a massive loss of
\ntopsoil, water catchment areas and natural resources.<\/p>\n
\"You can never restore damaged protected forests after all of
\ntheir natural elements have been eroded and lost. Take a look at
\nFreeport's vast (concession) area in Papua. How can one expect
\nthe company to carry out full rehabilitation?\" he said, referring
\nto PT Freeport Indonesia, a giant gold and copper miner.<\/p>\n
Muslimin added that the Forestry Law had been thoroughly
\ndiscussed with the other relevant ministries, including the
\nMinistry of Mineral Resources and the Office of the State
\nMinister for the Environment.<\/p>\n
Another witness, Haryadi Kartodihardjo from the Bogor
\nInstitute of Agriculture, echoed Muslimin's view that damaged
\nprotected forests would most likely never be able to recover.<\/p>\n
Regarding government claims that the mining firms were helping
\nsupport local governments in financial and developmental terms,
\nHaryadi claimed the opposite was the case.<\/p>\n
\"Instead of contributing, Karimun Granite in the Riau Islands
\ncaused the local government to a loss of Rp 4.3 billion
\n(US$452,631) per year,\" he said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
A disaster management expert from the Veterans' National
\nDevelopment University in Yogyakarta, Eko Teguh Paripurno, said
\nthat open-pit mining in protected forests had great potential to
\nlead to disasters.<\/p>\n
\"The definition of a disaster isn't limited merely to natural
\ndisasters. The fact that we're losing natural resources that
\nshould provide livelihoods for our offspring is an even bigger
\ndisaster,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mining-in-forests-opposed-in-court-1447893297",
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