Govt warned of catasrophe from mining in protected forests
Govt warned of catasrophe from mining in protected forests
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
An expert on the environment has warned the government of
permanent environmental devastation if coal and oil mining in
eight protected forests in Central Kalimantan continues.
Speaking to journalists who cover issue relating to the
environment at a seminar organized by the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF) in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Dr. Hariadi
Kartodiharjo -- a lecturer of the forestry faculty and of the
post graduate program at the Bogor Agriculture Institute (IPB) --
said that the nation would pay the price if the mining activities
continued.
Support from local administrations in the province for mining
operations would definitely cause permanent devastation of the
environment, raise the threat of the extinction of rare species
and decrease water supply to the 900-kilometer Barito River and
millions of people living along the riverbank, he said as quoted
by Antara news agency.
The damage would be irreversible and the government was
accountable. The international community and mainly the next
generation would experience the consequences, he added.
Kartodiharjo expressed his deep disappointment with the
provincial administration, which agreed to revise the province's
spatial zoning, in line with the issuance of concessions for
local and foreign mining companies to explore the protected
forests.
He said the government had not taken the environment into
consideration in providing the concessions as it would gain
trillions of rupiah from the mining.
This step would drastically reduce the protected forests'
sustainability, he said.
The eight protected forests where mining activities are
underway are situated in Batu Pao, Sungai Barito Ubun, Tumbang
Lunmu, Datah Sapi, Tasang Butung, Lempunyat, Tumbang Olong and
Tanjung Balai.
Kartodiharjo said the government should reconsider its
provision of mining concessions.
If the government could not do so, he added, it should make
sure that commodities extracted from the forests would not affect
the national stock and production capacity. The issue needed to
be determined wisely and efficiently , he concluded.
He added that mining activities should be managed
professionally and local communities should hold equal power with
stakeholders.
Separately, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo
Yusgiantoro said here on Friday that the government could no
longer revoke concessions to mine protected forests given to 22
foreign companies.
"All the companies, which secured their licenses during the
New Order era, have built their own infrastructure at the
locations, several have even started operation," he said,
explaining that Indonesia would suffer greater losses if lawsuits
were forthcoming.
The issuance of mining concessions for the eight protected
forests are against the environmental law and forestry law and
contrary to Ministerial Decree No. 535/2001 on the ban on coal
mining in the province and Ministerial Decree No. 535/2001 on
requirements for oil mining in remote areas.