House to talk to local govts concerning new mining policy
House to talk to local govts concerning new mining policy
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives will seek input from provincial and
regency administrations before deciding on the government's
proposal to allow some 22 mining companies to resume operations
in protected forests.
Legislator Andas P. Tanri of House Commission III on forestry
affairs said that the voice of the regional governments was
important because it was their respective areas and the lives of
the local people which would be directly affected by the mining
activities.
"Their input will be a decisive factor for us to decide which
mining companies are eligible to resume operation," Andas told
The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The new plan was reached during a closed-door meeting late on
Thursday with the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Energy
and Mineral Resources.
He said that the House was expected to make a decision by the
third week of October.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources had earlier
proposed 22 mining companies, mostly owned by foreign investors,
to be allowed to resume open mining activities in protected
forests. The move is seen as an effort to boost short-term
economic growth in the eastern part of Indonesia as most of the
mining companies are located in Sulawesi, Papua and Maluku.
The new policy must be approved by the House.
The above mining companies were part of more than 50 mining
firms which had to stop operations in 1999 following the
introduction of a sustainable forestry law which banned open-pit
mining in protected forests. The companies have since launched a
protest as they had invested billions of dollars before their
mining areas were designated as protected forest.
Environmentalists are enraged by the new government policy as
they believe it would cause irreversible ecological damage. Some
local administrations have also expressed disagreement over the
plan.
For example, the Palu administration in Central Sulawesi had
voiced its opposition against the government policy to allow
mining firm PT Citra Palu Minerals, which is owned by Anglo-
Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, to resume its operation in the
local forest area.
The local administration argued that the move would adversely
affect the quality of local water resources.
The following is a list of the 22 mining companies: PT
Freeport Indonesia, PT Nabire Bakti Mining, PT Galuh Cempaka,
PT Meratus Sumber Mas, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, PT Karimmun
Granit, PT International Nikel Indonesia, PT Barisan Tropical
Mining, PT Natarang Mining, PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, PT Citra
Palu Minerals, PT Nusa Halmahera Minerals, PT Weda Bay Nikel,
PT Gag Nikel, PT Riau Baraharum, PT Jorong Barutama Greston,
PT Bahari Cakrawala, PT Indominco Mandiri, PT Westralian Atan
Minerals, PT Kelian Equatorial, PT Meares Soputan Mining,
PT Arutmin Indonesia.