Singapore must help RI curb illegal sand mining, activists say<\/p>\n
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government should seek to forge a bilateral cooperation with
\nSingapore to curb illegal sand mining here, which has caused
\nserious damage to the environment, a legislator and an
\nenvironmental activist said.<\/p>\n
\"The best way to end illegal sand quarrying is to establish
\nbilateral cooperation between the two countries,\" Priyo Budi
\nSantoso, a legislator on House of Representatives Commission VIII
\nfor mining, energy and environmental affairs, told The Jakarta
\nPost on Friday.<\/p>\n
Raja Siregar, a senior official with the Indonesian Forum for
\nthe Environment (Walhi), agreed, saying the Singapore government
\nmust play a role in the fight because much of the illegally
\nquarried sand eventually found its way to the island state.<\/p>\n
The comments from the two experts come after the government
\nquietly issued a presidential decree in May that effectively
\nallows sand exports to Singapore.<\/p>\n
The government temporarily banned sand quarrying and the
\nexport of sand in February, in response to protests from
\nenvironmentalists that sand mining in the waters off Riau
\nprovince had damaged the marine environment. All of the sand
\nextracted off Riau, both legally and illegally, was exported to
\nSingapore, which used the commodity for coastal reclamation
\nprojects.<\/p>\n
Under Presidential Decree No. 33\/2002, sea sand quarrying is
\nto be controlled and supervised by the central government,
\nthrough a special team led by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs
\nand Fisheries.<\/p>\n
The decree states that all sand exports require a permit from
\nthe central government, via the Ministry of Trade and Industry.<\/p>\n
The special government team is also expected to take measures
\nto help protect the marine environment, including through zoning
\nmechanisms.<\/p>\n
Since the issuance of the presidential decree in May, the
\nMinistry of Trade and Industry has issued 71 licenses to sand
\nexporters, and some 3.7 million cubic meters of sand has been
\nexported to Singapore from Riau.<\/p>\n
Walhi's Raja said the Singapore government must publish the
\nvolume of its sand imports from Indonesia, to help ensure that no
\nillegally mined sand enters the island state, which has been
\naggressive in expanding its land area.<\/p>\n
\"This requires bilateral cooperation between the two
\ngovernments,\" he said, adding that both Indonesia and Singapore
\nmust take strict action against those involved in illegal sand
\nmining.<\/p>\n
Priyo also said sand exports to Singapore largely benefited
\nthe island state because the Indonesian sand was sold at very
\nlow prices.<\/p>\n
\"This is not fair,\" he said, adding that the government must
\ninterfere in the sand exports by setting a high floor price.<\/p>\n
Singapore is estimated to require some 1.8 billion cubic
\nmeters of sand over the next eight years for its land reclamation
\nwork.<\/p>\n
Riau has been exporting sand to Singapore for many years. The
\nsand is sold for S$1.5 per cubic meter to international brokers,
\nwho then sell the sand to Singapore construction firms for S$15
\nper cubic meter.<\/p>\n
The uncontrolled sand extraction from the coastal areas of
\nRiau has caused severe environmental damage, leading to the
\ndisappearance of a number of small islets from the province.<\/p>\n
The government and the Riau provincial administration
\npreviously announced several measures to curb the illegal sand
\nquarrying. However, these measures failed to halt the quarrying,
\nwhich is believed to be backed by military people and
\ninternational syndicates.<\/p>\n
In February, three ministers -- Minister of Trade and Industry
\nRini MS Soewandi, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
\nRokhmin Damhuri and State Minister for the Environment Nabiel
\nMakarim -- signed a decree temporarily banning sand quarrying and
\nexports to Singapore until measures to protect the environment
\nwere in place.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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