Miners blamed for park damage

Miners blamed for park damage

BOGOR (JP): Some 255 hectare of the 30,000 hectare Gunung
Halimun national park has been damaged allegedly by illegal
mining activities, an official said on Thursday.

An official at the local branch of the Regional Environmental
Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda), Eran Subarna, said the
damaged areas were polluted with mercury, a substance used by
miners to separate gold from other elements.

Forest rehabilitation and efforts to reduce the impact of
mercury pollution on the damaged areas were underway, Eran said.

Of the total 255 hectare of damaged forest, Eran said, 26.34
hectares had been rejuvenated.

The agency, in cooperation with the management of the Gunung
Halimun National Park, has planted some 22,870 trees in the
destroyed areas, including pinus, mahogany, kaliandara, albasia,
African wood and waru tree.

The Halimun national park, spanning across the regencies of
Lebak, Bogor and Sukabumi, in Banten and West Java, is a crucial
water catchment areas for at least 30 million people, including
Jakartans. (21)