Government told to reconsider road project in Leuser park

Government told to reconsider road project in Leuser park

Apriadi Gunawan and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post,
Medan/Jakarta

Legislators urged the government on Tuesday to abandon its plan
to continue construction on a Rp 1 trillion (US$1.2 million)
highway cutting through Aceh province in Sumatra.

"We do not see any urgency to build the road, at the cost of
destroying the Leuser ecosystem," said legislator Zaenal Arifin
on Tuesday, echoing what environmentalists said recently.

Debate on the 500-kilometer road project surged following a
huge flash flood on Nov. 2 in nearby North Sumatra province,
which environmentalists attributed to the destruction of the
Leuser ecosystem. The flood killed 140 people, with more than 100
people still unaccounted for.

The flood in Bukit Lawang resort, Langka regency, triggered
public debate, with the road project cited as one of several
possible causes. Both Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa and State
Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim initially blamed
illegal logging as the cause of the flood, but their stance
shifted after visiting the site. Now, both ministers say that the
flood was purely a natural disaster.

Prakosa said on Monday that the government was to relocate a
14-kilometer stretch of road to avoid destroying the park.
It was not immediately clear if the relocation would entail
moving the route out of the Leuser Park as suggested by
environmentalist activists. A team from the forestry ministry
left for the Ladia Galaska on Tuesday to determine what to do
with the parts that are prone to landslides.

The Ladia Galaska road project connects the Indian Ocean side
of Aceh with the Malaka Strait on the eastern side and links 23
small villages with a total population of less than 1,000
residents. Over 90 kilometers of the road would cut through the
Leuser ecosystem. So far only about 10 km of the road on the
Indian Ocean side have been completed.

Nabiel had earlier suggested that the road project be
abandoned for fear that it would become a means for illegal
loggers to transport stolen logs.

"The government argued that people in East Aceh needed the
road to end their isolation and improve their welfare. However,
the number of residents there is not significant enough to
destroy the Leuser ecosystem," Zainal said after a meeting
between legislators of Commission VIII on energy and environment
and Nabiel at the latter's office.

"It's obvious that roads transecting forests have both a
serious and permanent negative impact."

Zaenal, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) faction, alleged that the road would benefit only few
people, including the owners of several oil palm plantations
adjacent to the projected route.

The Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure
commenced construction on the project, despite an incomplete
environmental feasibility study (Amdal) and lack of an official
order from the President.

Water from the Leuser ecosystem sustains more than two million
farmers as well as supporting a major industrial complex in the
Aceh town of Lhokseumawe.

Separately, an investigation team comprising staffers of the
North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesia Forum on the Environment
(Walhi) and the Office of the State Minister of the Environment
revealed that illegal occupation of land in Mount Leuser National
Park had caused the recent flash flood.

Mardjoko, the founder of the Medan-based Environment Legal Aid
Institute, said that illegal occupation of the national park land
also occurred in the downstream area of the Bahorok River.