Forest's mining law under review

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Constitutional Court commenced on Wednesday the hearing of a demand to revoke a controversial law that allows several mining companies to operate open-pit mining in protected forests.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin, Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban and Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar were present at the hearing, which also saw the presence of representatives of non-governmental organizations as the plaintiffs.

The NGOs are seeking the revocation of Law No. 19/2004 that allows 13 companies to resume open-pit mining in protected forests. The law confirms a government regulation in lieu of the law on the same issue.

A lawyer representing the NGOs, Uli P. Sihombing, said his clients particularly opposed the consideration of the law, which says it is established to provide legal certainty for mining in forests and to attract investment.

The plaintiffs say the law violates the basic right to enjoy a good and healthy environment and the principle of sustainable development.

They also demanded the revocation of the law, saying its establishment and that of the government regulation in lieu of the law was illegal.

Aburizal told the court the law was enacted to provide legal certainty in the mining sector because the prohibition of mining operations in protected forests, as stipulated in Law No. 41/1999 on forestry, came after the government had granted a number of mining companies concessions to conduct open-pit mining in forests.

The government has shortlisted the mining companies granted the permit from 150 to 13 in a bid to prevent further environmental destruction, Kaban added.

Hamid claimed that the government had taken into consideration the principle of sustainable development in issuing the government regulation and the law, saying the selected mining companies were subject to strict conditions before, during and after the operations.

"They must obey a series of conditions for operating in protected forests in a bid to minimize the adverse impacts of their operations on the environment," he said.

The government has come under criticism for endorsing the controversial legislation.

The law, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the State Secretary, was endorsed by the House of Representatives early in September last year.

Some legislators who opposed the bill said a number of their colleagues were bribed to pass the draft law.