Forestry ministry soften stance on mining
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The Ministry of Forestry has issued a new decree setting conditions for mining firms to operate in protected forests in a bid to minimize the adverse impacts of their operations on the environment.
Several articles of the new decree, however, contain ambiguities that could be abused by mining firms to avoid their environmental obligations in collusion with corrupt officials from the ministry.
Ministry of Forestry spokesman Transtoto Handadhari said the Ministry had endorsed the decree on Wednesday after close coordination with officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
"The decree is designed to limit the potential destruction caused by mining operations on natural forests and the environment," said Transtoto during a press conference on Thursday.
According to the decree, mining firms must first secure an operating permit from the ministry before starting operations. The permit will be issued after this is recommended by a joint investigation team.
However, the costs of the joint team in appraising requests for an operating permit must be borne by the mining firm making the request. This, analysts say, could open the way for collusion between mining firms and the members of joint teams as the latter will not lack independence in carrying out their duties.
Under the decree, mining firms are required to renew their licenses every five years.
Each firm has to pay a bond to the government to cover the cost of rehabilitating their mines after their closure.
A firm will also have to pay some of its yearly net profit to the government over the course of the mine's life, in case its concession cannot be rehabilitated.
"The bonds and the profit allocation requirements are to ensure that firms do not ignore their responsibilities for former mine workings," said Transtoto, adding that the amount of the bond and allocation had yet to be decided.
A source at the Ministry of Forestry said the ministry had proposed that mining firms allocate 10 percent of their net profits for the rehabilitation of their concessions. However, the proposal had been rejected by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as it was considered to be a deterrent to investment.
It is feared that the failure to stipulate a minimum level of rehabilitation funds could open the way for mining firms to collude with corrupt government officials to reduce the money the firms have to cough up for rehabilitation purposes.
The decree also provides that in exchange for a concession, a firm will also have to provide a plot of land larger than its concession if it operates in a province whose natural forests account for less than 30 percent of its total land area.
The ministry has been criticized for endorsing a controversial government regulation in lieu of law, which has since been confirmed by the house as a law, that allows 13 mining firms to resume open-pit operations in protected forests. With the issuance of the new decree, the ministry is apparently seeking to show the public that it cares about the environment.
The law, which was initiated by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources along with the State Secretary, was endorsed by the House of Representatives last month. A group of dissident legislators have said that some of their colleagues were bribed to approve the law.
Eyebox Sawn timber not for export
The Ministry of Forestry has issued a joint ministerial decree with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to ban the export of sawn timber, following the rampant smuggling of such timber out of the country.
Ministry of Forestry spokesman Transtoto Handadhari said the government had decided to ban the export of sawn timber following reports of rampant smuggling of the timber to China -- something that is feared could accelerate illegal logging at home.
"The ban has been imposed based on the consideration that the export of this product fails to optimize the benefits accruing from the exploitation of the country's forests, and only serves to trigger more illegal logging and smuggling," said Transtoto.
According to the ministry, Indonesia only exported some 336,000 cubic meters of sawn timber in 2002 to China. However, based on an official report from the Chinese authorities, the country imported 1.22 million cubic meters of the product from Indonesia.
"The huge disparity between the figures recorded by the Chinese and Indonesian governments shows just how serious the smuggling is," said Transtoto, adding that Indonesia produced eight million cubic meters of sawn timber annually for local consumption. -- JP