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.