Environment minister slams Aceh forest road project

Environment minister slams Aceh forest road project

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim criticized on
Wednesday the Ladia Galaska road project, planned to cut through
the southern portions of Aceh, saying that it was not feasible
and would endanger both the environment and the communities in
the province.

The 500-kilometer road linking the west and east coasts of the
war-torn province would slash its way through the Leuser
ecosystem, the only virgin forest left on Sumatra.

"The Ladia Galaska project will not achieve its stated purpose
of opening up isolated rural areas since it has not been built
through areas with adequate population density as can be seen
from the demographic data," Nabiel argued.

The minister warned that the road would also open up access
for illegal loggers who would change the pristine Leuser
conservation forest into an "illegal logging hypermarket".

At least 187 people were killed and 87 missing when a massive
flash flood, blamed on illegal logging, swept through Bahorok
district, North Sumatra last year.

Nabiel warned that Indonesia risked losing financial
assistance from the European Union, which had committed 31
million euro for the Leuser conservation project.

According to the European Union, the project alone would
destroy at least 2.6 million hectares of conservation area in the
Leuser ecosystem and cause the loss of 30 percent of the species
existing in the area.

The Leuser ecosystem is home to 6,000 orangutans, 4,000
elephants, 200 tigers and 50 Sumatran rhinos.

Nabiel asserted that there had been no feasibility study done
for the Ladia Galaska road project, which would cut through steep
and unstable hills.

Data from the Ministry of the Environment showed that about 39
percent of the land in which the project would cut through was
unstable and prone to landslides.

On the economic side, he said, the road project would slow
down the economic cycle in Banda Aceh because the planned road
could cause a concentration of business activity in nearby Medan
in North Sumatra, with better port facilities.

Nabiel feared that the planned road, which entirely bypasses
Banda Aceh, would isolate the provincial capital and reduce
economic activity there.

"We cannot maintain the economic life of some areas by
isolating other areas," Nabiel said.

The minister also dismissed accusations by proponents of the
project that his ministry and the ministry of forestry were
merely trying to hamper economic development in Aceh.

The two ministries have openly opposed the controversial
project.

The two ministries have also proposed an alternative route by
developing existing roads from Meulaboh to Banda Aceh and from
Takengon to Bereun into proper highways.

According to Nabiel, the alternative plan would be more
technically feasible since the land was stable. It would also be
far less costly since there were already roads in place.

"They just need to upgrade the roads into highways," he said.

Nabiel said the real issue was not the purpose of the project
but how much it would significantly affect the life of Acehnese
people, and whether it was the best way to solve economic
problems in the province.

He questioned why the proponents of the project refused to
consider alternatives to improve the situation of Aceh people
without irreversibly destroying one of the world's most valuable
rainforests -- the Leuser National Park.