House to mull OK'ing mines in protected forests

House to mull OK'ing mines in protected forests

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is seeking support
from the House of Representatives (DPR) for its policy to allow
some mining companies to operate in protected forests -- a move
which will predictably meet strong resistance from
environmentalists.

The move comes as the ministry is still unable to gain full
support from all Cabinet members for the policy.

The ministry expects the House to use its political power to
persuade or pressure the Ministry of Forestry, the main opponent
of the policy, to change its stance.

"We will meet the DPR soon. We expect to have resolution from
DPR," Director General of Geology and Mineral Resources Wimpy S.
Tjetjep said last week.

According to Wimpy, the government must show fairness towards
mining firms which have invested billion of dollars for
exploration but now have been banned from continuing their
operations by the Ministry of Forestry .

The ministry banned their operations in compliance with
Forestry Law No. 41, issued in 1999, which bans open-pit mining
operations in protected forests; while the affected mining firms
started exploration years before the issuance of the law.

"That's unfair to them, therefore we must give them the best
solution," he said.

Following the implementation of the law, about 150 mining
companies had to stop their operations because they operated in
the areas which the Ministry of Forestry categorized as
"protected forests"

Among them are the nickel mining operation of PT Gag Nickel on
Gag Island in Papua, and the gold mining company PT Citra Palu
Minerals in Central Sulawesi.

Gag Island has a huge nickel deposit, considered the world's
largest nickel deposit after those found in Goro in New Zealand
and Voissey Bay in Canada.

Gag Nickel is jointly owned by Australian business group BHP
Pty. Ltd. and Indonesia's state-owned mining firm PT Aneka
Tambang.

Citra Palu is 90 percent owned by Anglo-Australian mining
giant Rio Tinto with the remaining 10 percent held by local firm
PT Arlia Karyamaska.

The mining firms have for years protested the ban and
requested the government to review it, saying their operations
would create multiplier effects on the country's economy and the
welfare of local people.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organizations like the Mining
Advocacy Network (Jatam) and The Indonesian Forum for the
Environment (Walhi) have put their weight behind the law, by
supporting the ban imposed by the Ministry of Forestry on the
mining firms.

The NGOs said open-pit mining activities would greatly damage
the environment in and around a mining sites and would displace
local people from their land.

In addition, once a mining site was abandoned, it would be
very difficult to rehabilitate the area, according to the NGOs.

According to Jatam, mining areas have reached 84 million
hectares, or more than half of the country's total land. Thus, it
is not necessary to allow mining companies to operate in
conservation areas.

It added that the mining sector accounts for 10 percent of the
destruction of the country's forest.

Conservation areas and protected forests now cover about 54
million hectares, according to government data.

Concerned ministries -- The Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources, The Ministry of Environment and The Ministry of
Forestry -- have been in talks to resolve the problem.

The Ministry of Environment has reportedly agreed to allow the
companies to resume their operation, but the Ministry of Forestry
has consistently opposed the idea.

However, the three ministries have agreed not to issue new
licenses to new mining companies to operate in conservation
areas.

Asking whether the government and the House would consider
revising the current Forestry Law, Wimpy said the revision would
depend on the House's will.

"Amending the law will be difficult and will take a long
time," he added.

Separately, Golkar legislator M. Husni Thamrin, who is a
member of the House's Commission VIII which oversees, among other
things, mining affairs, said he preferred to suggest that his
colleagues amend the Forestry Law.

"We must understand mineral resources are a gift from God for
people. They might not exist in other locations.

"If a mine has potential, we can decide whether or not to
exploit it to bring wealth to people," he said.

He added that should the government agree, the revision could
be completed in two months.

However, according to Husni, the issue must be discussed
carefully because protected areas are also needed to prevent
flooding, erosion and other natural disasters.