Ministry vows to protect C. Java limestone caves<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Forestry is to remain firm in
\nits efforts to preserve the limestone-rich forest land in
\nGombong, Central Java, and is against a plan to turn the area
\ninto a quarry for a proposed cement plant.<\/p>\n
Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said yesterday
\nthat his decision is the same as that of former forestry minister
\nSoedjarwo.<\/p>\n
\"As long as the plan involves the 287 hectares of forest land
\nin that area, the ministry will maintain its stance. The karst
\necosystem in question must be preserved and the forests will not
\nbe converted,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin was responding to recent reports stating that PT
\nSemen Gombong had conducted a ground-breaking ceremony for the
\nconstruction of a cement plant in Gombong in spite of disapproval
\nfrom the Ministry of Forestry.<\/p>\n
Semen Gombong's plan to build a plant in Gombong was first
\nreported in 1985. However, the plan was held back by the-then
\nforestry minister Soedjarwo, who said the karst caves in the area
\nwere too valuable to be used to make cement.<\/p>\n
Soedjarwo, quoting studies by a number of speleologists
\nincluding those from the International Union of Speleology and
\nvarious universities, said the limestone caves were not only
\nbeautifully carved with stalactites and stalagmites but also
\ncontained many underground lakes and rivers which could provide
\nhuge water supplies for surrounding industrial estates.<\/p>\n
The studies also stated that the limestone area, which was
\nestimated to have been shaped some 20 million years ago, was an
\ninvaluable asset for science as well as for the tourism industry.<\/p>\n
According to reports in 1985, Semen Gombong planned to build a
\ncement factory with an investment of Rp 400 billion (US$173.91
\nmillion at the current rate). Production was expected to start in
\n1995 or 1996 with a capacity of 1.5 million tons a year.<\/p>\n
The company said it required 1,000 hectares of land, of which
\n287 were forests managed by the state-owned Perum Perhutani
\nforestry firm.<\/p>\n
Last October, Semen Gombong submitted a letter to the Ministry
\nof Forestry, asking to acquire the land in question from
\nPerhutani.<\/p>\n
But the ministry's research and development agency recently
\nreconfirmed earlier studies and recommended that the area should
\nremain undisturbed.<\/p>\n
The agency also felt that if a cement plant was to be built, a
\nsocial, economic and environmental assessment by an independent
\nbody must be conducted to ascertain its feasibility.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said yesterday that Semen Gombong should look for
\nkarst deposits in other locations where the population density
\nand social, environmental and even political impacts were lower.<\/p>\n
The ministry, he said, was now waiting for the office of the
\nMinister of Environment's Environmental Impact Management Agency
\n(Bapedal) to conduct site studies in the area.<\/p>\n
\"Whether or not the cement factory will be built is none of
\nour business...That will be handled by Bapedal, which has a
\nresponsibility to the country. We only want to make sure that the
\n287 hectares of forests we manage remain as they are,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I understand that the cement industry is an important one and
\nthat we must support it. But we want to have a sustainable type
\nof development, so we must think of ways to develop without
\ndisturbing the environment,\" Djamaludin added.<\/p>\n
He said that based on recent studies by his office, it was
\ndiscovered that many local people have not agreed to sell their
\nland to Semen Gombong.<\/p>\n
The region, he said, has also been declared a protected area
\nand stipulated as one of the country's three National Karst Parks
\nand a world heritage site. The other parks are the Jaya Wijaya
\nrange in Irian Jaya and the Maros mountains in South Sulawesi.
\n(pwn)<\/p>",
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