Lawmakers consider amending forestry law to attract investment
Lawmakers consider amending forestry law to attract investment
Rendi A. Witoelar, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are considering
amendments to Law No. 41/1999 on forestry to accommodate the
interests of the mining industry and to ensure harsher
punishments for illegal loggers and negligent concessionaires.
Andas Tanri, a member of House Commission III for agricultural
and forestry affairs, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday several
House members were planning to amend the law because it was
considered unfriendly to mining investors and too weak in
penalizing violators.
"We at the House are still debating the possibility of
amending the law. The facts from the field show us that the law
cannot be properly applied by the Ministry of Forestry and the
provincial administrations," said Andas.
This should certainly please mining investors but infuriate
environmentalists and many international institutions, including
donor countries, who are concerned by the rapid depletion of
Indonesian forests and who consider open-pit mining operations to
be a factor behind the disappearance of the country's forests.
Furthermore, these critics contend that open-pit mining is by
its very nature destructive to the environment, as there is way
to return former mining sites back to their original condition.
Dozens of mining companies were forced to stop operations
after the government issued the law in 1999, which bans open-pit
mining in protected forests.
Many of them had already spent a great deal of money on
exploration and had to abandon their projects because the
Ministry of Forestry designated their contract areas protected
forests.
The mining industry, backed by the Ministry of Energy and
Mineral Resources, has lobbied various governmental agencies to
allow them to continue their open-pit operations. The lobbying
appears to have paid off, with the Ministry of Forestry and the
Office of the State Minister for the Environment, who were
initially opposed to the open-pit mining operations, agreeing to
bring the case to the House.
A clause in the 1999 law says that mining companies can
continue operating in protected forests with the approval of the
House.
Late last year, the House discussed the possibility of
allowing 22 mining companies to continue their open-pit projects
in protected forests, but no final decision has been made.
A House member, who asked not to be identified, said support
for amending the law swelled because of the frustration felt by
lawmakers involved in discussions on the fate of the 22 mining
firms.
However, Andas said the main reason behind the amendment plan
was to ensure stiffer penalties for illegal loggers and negligent
concessionaires. Protecting the interests of mining investors,
according to him, is secondary.
Andas also said that should the House agree to amend the law,
it would likely give the government the authority to set up a
mining perpu, which is a temporary government decree that has the
same execution power as a law.
Another possibility is that the House will approve revisions
to certain articles in the law and pass the revisions on to the
government.
A member of House Commission VIII for mining and energy
affairs, Emir Muis, welcomed the plan, saying it would reduce
obstacles for investing in the mining sector.
"Actually, there are no intense talks about the issue here at
Commission VIII, but we appreciate our colleagues for their work
on the plan," said Emir.
If the House allow open-pit mining in protected forests,
Indonesia could lose a huge amount of aid from international
lenders intended to protect the country's environment, activists
said.
In October last year, the World Bank warned that foreign
donors could further reduce their environmental grants to
Indonesia if the government allowed mining firms to operate in
protected forests.