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.