Environment Minister criticises mining industry over IKN forest restoration initiatives
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Minister of Environment/Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (BPLH), Jumhur Hidayat, has criticised actors in the mining industry and holders of national industrial plantation land-use rights (HGU) who frequently evade their obligations regarding environmental restoration and reclamation following operations.
Jumhur made these remarks in response to a presentation by the Head of the Nusantara Capital City Authority (OIKN), Basuki Hadimuljono, concerning the reforestation programme for former mining pits in the Bukit Soarto area. The discussion took place during a virtual session as part of the 2026 World Environment Day celebrations held in Jakarta on Saturday.
“There are many mining activities that have not been restored; hopefully, the IKN Authority Head’s initiative to restore them can provoke those who support mining,” Jumund said during the event.
Jumhur emphasised that the massive exploitation of natural resources without restoration responsibility constitutes a disregard for the ecological rights of communities living around mining areas, which has fatal consequences for the future of the planet. Consequently, the Ministry of Environment demands full commitment from all mining permit holders to restore the landscape functions, soil quality, and forest cover to their original state to achieve climate justice.
“There should indeed be rights for local communities; the earth and the damaged environment should be restored. I know you are a hard worker,” he added, referring to Basuki.
Meanwhile, during the virtual interaction, Basuki revealed that restoring forest cover to former mining pit areas in the Bukit Soeharto region is part of the programme to organise the buffer zones of the IKN. He emphasised that massive tree planting will be conducted across critical land clusters previously used for mining commodities. This commitment is a tangible manifestation of cooperation between the OIKN, the Ministry of Forestry, and several private entities acting as strategic partners operating in the region, which was formerly part of East Kalimantan Province.
This environmental restoration step runs alongside the ecosystem transformation within the 17-hectare National Government Core Area (KIPP), where monoculture eucalyptus vegetation is being replaced with heterogeneous tropical forests to achieve the ‘forest city’ vision.
The former Minister of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) for the 2014-2024 period expressed his determination to make tree planting and household waste sorting a lifestyle for all levels of society and government agencies in the IKN. To this end, the OIKN has scheduled bi-weekly tree planting and community cleaning activities (kerja bakti).
“Tree planting in the IKN will become a lifestyle. We have been doing this every two weeks since 2025. If even 80 per cent of the population does this routinely, that would mean 800 trees every week. To date, more than 19,000 trees have been planted across more than 17 hectares in the National Government Core Area. We want this to be one of the pillars of the IKN’s development as a forest city, not a site of deforestation,” he stated.