Gold mining in Batang Gadis opposed

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has demanded that the government stop gold mining in the Batang Gadis National Park, Mandailing Natal regency here, saying that it would damage the environment in the area.

Mining firm PT Sorikmas Mining (PT SM) was granted a license to mine gold in parts of the national park in 1998, and the company has been exploring the area since then.

Herwin Nasution, the executive director of Walhi's North Sumatra chapter, said that the decision to grant the mining license to the company violated Law No. 41/1999 that prohibited mining in protected forests.

"If mining really takes place in the national park, an environmental catastrophe will certainly happen in the area. If this happens, it will be a disaster for the communities living near the national park, as they may be victims of floods and landslides," he said on Monday.

The NGOs, including Walhi, have stepped up pressure on the government to put an end to mining activities in protected forests, following flash flood in Bahorok, North Sumatra, which killed over 140 people last year.

The incident raised awareness among people that forests have to be protected to prevent repeated flash floods and landslides in the future. Not only the NGO, but local people have also become aware that forests are important as catchment areas. Recently, local residents in Mandailing Natal, who live along the banks of Batang Gadis River, demanded that the local government name a forest near the river as a national park, or Batang Gadis National Park.

The demand by the local residents was accepted by the government and even President Megawati Soekarnoputri herself was ready to declare the forest a national park.

The inauguration ceremony, to be led by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, was set for Friday last week, but it was canceled indefinitely. The reason behind the cancellation was unclear.

Having declared the forest a national park or conservation area, the government can lawfully arrest and prosecute illegal loggers who fell trees or hunt rare species in the area.

Separately, chief of the mining office of the North Sumatra administration Washington Tambunan confirmed that the company was granted the mining license in 1998.

Under the contract, the company is allowed to mine gold in the area for 40 years and it can be extended.

The contract was left in limbo in 1999, after the government and the House of Representative agreed to issue a law that prohibited companies from operating in protected forests.

But, the government issued a decree in-lieu of law early this year to allow all companies that signed mining contracts before 1998 to continue mining activities in their respective areas.

PT SM is a joint venture company, with some 70 percent of its shares owned by Australian businessmen.

Despite the protest, Washington believed that the company would preserve the environment. "They are bound by the contract to help preserve the environment. I believe they will honor it, otherwise we will terminate the contract," he said.

B. Thomas, a senior geologist at the company, asserted that the company would still operate in the area, despite the protest.

He said that the company had been awarded the contract, and all parties concerned in Indonesia had to honor the contract.

He added that the company had spent US$3.6 million on exploration alone.