Govt under fire for mining contracts

Govt under fire for mining contracts

Moch. N Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Public outrage is increasing over the government's move to allow
mining in conservation forests in Sulawesi and Kalimantan.

Hundreds of people in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi,
demonstrated at the provincial legislative council on Wednesday,
demanding the central government stop mining by state-owned PT
Aneka Tambang on Bahabulu island in the province.

The government has changed the status of Bahabulu from a
conservation area to an industrial forest, allowing nickel mining
on the island. An 1997 environmental law and 1999 forestry law do
not allow mining in national parks or protected forests.

"We reject the government's decision allowing mining in the
conservation area. The island has long since functioned as a
water catchment area to prevent flooding," demonstration
coordinator Bambang S. said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Kendari is only one of several cities where protests have
taken place against the government's environmental policy
allowing mining in conservation forests in Sulawesi, Kalimantan
and Sumatra.

The government's approval of mining in conservation areas
recently won support from the House of Representatives following
much debate.

The debate has really begun following the issuance of Law No.
41/1999 on conservation areas, which annulled several mining
contracts awarded by the previous government.

Some 15 of 21 controversial mining projects in conservation
areas across the country are expected to be approved next week,
despite the public criticism.

A recent report by the World Bank said environmental
degradation was a threat to tribal people living in the
conservation forests.

Central Sulawesi Governor Aminuddin Ponulele has won much
goodwill from people in the province for objecting to mining
activities in the Poboya conservation area near the provincial
capital of Palu.

While meeting with 200 demonstrators at his office in Palu on
Wednesday, the governor said the conservation area had to be
protected to ensure the safety of the water supply to the
provincial capital.

The Central Sulawesi provincial legislative council supports
the administration's objections to mining in the Poboya
conservation area.

Also, the South Kalimantan provincial legislative council sent
a letter to the House of Representatives and to the ministers of
energy and mineral resources, and forestry, rejecting mining in
the Meratus protected forest.

Alliance for Meratus Protected Forest coordinator Muhammad
Saleh said he would continue to raise support to oppose any
mining in the protected forest.

"We have received confirmation from the provincial legislature
leadership that a letter has already been delivered to the House
leadership in Jakarta," he said.

At least four timber and mining companies -- PT Kodeco, PT Aya
Yayang, PT Meratus Sumber Mas and PT Bina Alam Indah Lestari --
have been accused of destroying or degrading thousands of
hectares of the forest in their quest for wood or ore.

In Jakarta, hundreds of environmental activists staged a
demonstration in front of the Australian Embassy to protest what
they said was pressure by the Australian government on the
Indonesian government to issue a contract to an Australian mining
firm for a protected forest.

The director of the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation
(Kehati), Ismid Hadad, criticized the government for disregarding
environmental problems.

"Even worse, the government is considering issuing mining
contracts to 22 companies for several conservation areas across
the country," he said.