Irianese tribes want activists for Freeport audit

JAKARTA (JP): Tribes from Irian Jaya have asked the government to include international environmental organizations in the team to assess the impact of Freeport Indonesia's gold mining operation on the environment in the province.

Baliem Valley Foundation, a non-profit organization representing a number of tribes living near the Jayawijaya mountain, said the involvement of the international green groups was needed to ensure fairness.

"We can ask the Rainbow Warrior team from Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth to take part in the environmental audit team," the spokesman for the foundation, Edmond R. Ernst, said in a seminar on Tuesday.

The foundation has strongly protested the mining operation of Freeport Indonesia in the province, now known as Papua, claiming it has accelerated the melting process of the ice cap on Carstenz and Meren in the Jayawijaya mountain range.

"There are no other large mining activities but Freeport near the glacier area that could disturb the mountain range and speed up the melting process," Edmond said.

Jayawijaya mountain range, one of three equatorial highlands whose summit is covered by an ice cap, is a world heritage site.

An environmental audit conducted by Montgomery Watson found the melting of the glaciers was not related to Freeport mining operations.

Montgomery Watson described Freeport's environmental management system as a "showcase for the mining industry", citing the company's compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Environmental experts and legislators criticized the audit, and the firm also has been blamed for a lack of concern for local people.

Environmentalists and members of the House of Representatives have called on the government to review Freeport's Indonesian mining contracts.

The government has established a joint verification team comprising senior officials from the Office of the State Minister of Environment and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to review the audit results.

According to glacier examination conducted by Indonesian Institute of Science, local warming in Papua increased the melting process and the ice was estimated to disappear by 2040 unless Indonesia took action.

Edmond said the reclamation of a depleted area should be done in stages, instead of waiting until Freeport's contract of work finished in 2040.

"We must invite the local community to participate in the reclamation of the exploited area to keep the world heritage site as a sustainable environment in the future," Edmond said.

Freeport Indonesia is an affiliate of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold of New Orleans.(07)