Irianese tribes want activists for Freeport audit
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)