Environmental disaster lingers at Kendari sand quarrying site
Environmental disaster lingers at Kendari sand quarrying site
Hasrul, The Jakarta Post, Kendari
Daeng Embang stared in despair at his dying orchard when a team
of government officials and environmental activists stopped by
his house on their way to monitor activities at a quarrying site
in the area.
The middle-aged man said that it had been almost a month since
he had bothered to tend to his precious fruit trees.
"I have tried fertilizing them, but to no avail," said Embang,
a resident at Rahandouna village, Kendari city, the capital of
Southeast Sulawesi province.
He explained that the durian, rambutan and jackfruit trees on
his 50-hectare orchard had dried up, lost their leaves and died
after another villager started mining for sand and gravel on an
adjacent plot of land.
The illegal quarrying has eaten away at the river banks,
causing the width of the riverbed to expand by 10 meters and the
river channel to be 10 meters deeper than it was previously.
The changes in the river channel and damage to adjacent areas
have impacted the water table in the village and caused crops to
dry up.
"Yes, the quarry site belongs to S., my neighbor. Quarrying
activities have been going on for a year," said Embang, trying to
look calm when Rahandouna village chief, Syamsukwan, asked about
the mining near his house.
But Embang soon became furious when as the discussion of his
neighbor continued. "I have already submitted this matter to God
and I hope I will not meet that person on the street," he said.
Embang knows S. well, and described him as a civil servant.
"He owns a large piece of land in this area, but he has not
cultivated it, but rather has turned it into a rock quarry," he
said. The village administration has not approved his activities.
"Frankly speaking, I just found out about the quarry here. I
have never been informed of it by the landowner," said the
village chief.
As required by regulations, quarrying must be authorized by
the village administration.
During the field inspection at the site, the young village
chief seemed startled when he saw that the road to the quarry had
been damaged. He also observed that the trees and crops planted
by villagers near the quarry were nearly lifeless and their roots
were showing.
"This has gone too far. The owner of the quarry has not
thought about the impact it has on other residents. I promise I
will summon S. to my office," he said.
S. is known to own three quarrying locations, one of them in
Tuonohu, near Embang's house on a local riverbank.
The Kendari mining authorities were not available for comment
when asked whether a permit was given.
The Coastal and Inland People's Empowerment Council (Lepmil),
a local non-governmental organization has alleged that illegal
quarrying is widespread in a number of locations in the Nanga-
Nanga forest preserve area near Embang's property.
At least 40 such locations in various places have been found,
mostly located along river banks.
"The government should restrict all mining because it has
caused serious damage to the environment," said Lepmil director,
Agung Wiyono.