Residents demand compensation for damage to mangrove seedlings<\/p>\n
Puji Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Siak, Riau<\/p>\n
Hundreds of farmers in Bunsur village located on Padang Island,
\nRiau province have since August been complaining about damage
\nthat has been done to millions of their mangrove seedlings.<\/p>\n
According to the farmers, the damage, which inflicted great
\nloss upon them, was caused by an oil spill at a local oil
\nrefinery.<\/p>\n
A farmer from Bunsur village, Syafruddin, 41, told The Jakarta
\nPost recently that local residents have made concerted efforts in
\ndemanding compensation for their damaged plants from PT Kondur
\nPetroleum, a subsidiary of the Bakrie Brothers consortium that
\noperates the oil refinery, but thus far their efforts had not
\nborne fruit.<\/p>\n
"The matter is still not settled, so in the meanwhile we've
\nbeen deprived of our livelihood. Millions of our mangrove plants
\nhave died. What will we replant the damaged coastal area with?"
\nsaid Syarifuddin in Bunsur village.<\/p>\n
The damage to mangrove seedlings in the area appeared
\nconsiderable when the Post observed first hand the impact of the
\noil spill last week. The problem has caused damage to at least
\nfive kilometers of mangrove forest lining the coast on Padang
\nIsland, some eight hours land journey south of Pekanbaru, the
\ncapital of Riau province.<\/p>\n
The trees formed a barrier against coastal abrasion and had
\ndied due to an oil spill that has persisted for the past four
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
Syafruddin added that he and hundreds of residents have since
\nrequested compensation from the company, even calling on the Siak
\nlegislative council to immediately resolve the problem.<\/p>\n
Bunsur village chief, Radison, told reporters that residents
\nhad sent a letter to the company on August 13, in which it stated
\nthat 193 farmers were demanding compensation for the 3,247,318
\nseedlings damaged by the oil pollution.<\/p>\n
"The matter has been previously discussed by officials at the
\nSiak administration, but is still pending. Farmers had demanded
\ncompensation of Rp 2.75 billion, but the company is unwilling to
\npay such an amount," said Radison.<\/p>\n
Separately, PT Kondur Petroleum spokesman Darul Hidayah
\nconfirmed the compensation demand from Bunsur residents.<\/p>\n
According to Darul, his company is looking to settle the
\nmatter through the local administration and the Northern Sumatra
\nRegion's State Petroleum Resource Regulator (BP Migas).<\/p>\n
However, Darul complained that the number of mangrove
\nseedlings that had been destroyed by the oil spill had not been
\nstated in the findings. "We'll only compensate those affected by
\nthe oil spill, but not all of them," said Darul.<\/p>\n
He said that in principle, the company was willing to
\ncompensate farmers but this was awaiting the outcome of a hearing
\nbetween the company and the local council.<\/p>\n
"We're aware that there are risks in this business, such as
\noil spills from pipe leaks and so on. That's why we are prepared
\nto pay compensation. The company is willing to compensate 10
\npercent of the loss or Rp 275 million. But the farmers have
\nrefused to accept this amount," he said.<\/p>\n
Darul added that efforts to conserve mangrove forests had been
\nconducted by the company since 1994, such as replanting mangrove
\ntrees in Tanjung Mayong and around Kurau jetty, which are located
\nnot far from Bunsur village.<\/p>\n
Mangrove forests function to protect coasts from storms,
\nerosion and abrasion, as well as providing habitat for various
\nanimals especially fish and bird species. Mangrove forests also
\nserve to maintain the climatic equilibrium of an area.<\/p>",
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