JP/4/EMIL

JP/4/EMIL

Mining industries urged to stop submarine tailing disposal

Wahyoe Boediwardhana
The Jakarta Post
Denpasar, Bali

Mining industries across Asia Pacific region have continued to
use submarine tailing deposit mining system, which will cost the
countries a lost both in environmental and socio economic fields,
a noted environmentalist said.

Former environment minister Emil Salim told a meeting
discussing the World Bank Extractive Industries Review (EIR) in
Nusa Dua on Saturday that up to now the Indonesian government was
unable to seriously deal with submarine tailing deposit mining.

Submarine tailing disposal (STD) is currently the most
preferred waste disposal procedures in regions with large-scale
mining operations and rich marine biodiversity, which is crucial
for the global marine conservation, such as Southeast Asia and
South Pacific.

"Most companies or parties operating mining industry in
Indonesia have used this system which is clearly degrading the
marine and coastal environment," said Emil.

He asserted that such a disposal system had seriously damaged
Indonesia's tropical marine life, marine resources and its
ecosystem.

"The most important problem is how to convince our government
to strictly regulate the system and to enforce the law because
almost two-thirds of Indonesian areas consist of waters and
oceans," Emil said.

Submarine Tailing Disposal is one of the main subjects being
discussed at the World Bank-initiated meeting which began on
Saturday and to close on Wednesday.

The five-day meeting would bring together stakeholders from
civil society, governments, the industries as well as the World
Bank Group to discuss oil, gas and mining issues. The framework
for this discussion is the globally agreed consensus to pave the
way for sustainable development in the 21th century.

The World Bank initiated the Extractive Industries Review
(EIR) and consultative process in order to obtain and understand
the views of stakeholders about the best future role of the World
Bank Group in the extractive industries if it is to promote
sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

Currently, the World Bank Group is supporting worldwide
governments, especially the developing ones, and industries to
develop extractive industries sectors. On the other hand, a group
of international organizations are calling the World Bank Group
to divest itself from extractive industry projects, based on the
observation that the exploitation of oil, gas and mining in
developing countries is not compatible to the Group's mission to
eradicate poverty.

"Exploitation of oil, gas and mining resources under various
conditions can result in a multitude of social problems and
serious environmental degradation," the organizations said in a
statement.

Citing an example, they said mining companies, especially
those operating in small and remote islands in Indonesia, often
disposed their waste directly to the sea without processing it.

Benyamin Kahn, director for APEX Environmental Indonesia
Oceanic Cetacean Program, disclosed the agency's study that
showed that the majority of fish taken from Sumbawa waters in
West Nusa Tenggara province and North Sulawesi waters were
contaminated by mining disposal waste.

"Japan has rejected the exports of fish because of chemical
contamination," the study revealed.

Emil said both the governments and industries must be held
responsible for preserving the environment.

"Indonesia, for instance, has rich marine biodiversity and
therefore, we have to apply technology to process mining disposal
waste," Emil suggested.