MP urges Forestry Ministry to tighten permits and rehabilitate river basins
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Commission IV member of the House of Representatives Rajiv has urged the government to immediately reform watershed management in mining and mineral processing industrial zones.
“Watershed rehabilitation is the foundation of sustainable industry. If the upstream areas are damaged and permit oversight is lax, the risks will keep recurring. We cannot wait for the next victims,” Rajiv said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.
His remarks were made in response to flooding that claimed lives in the PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) area in Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi.
He said the rehabilitation of watersheds around Morowali must be made a priority by both the government and business operators benefiting economically from the area. He stressed that reforestation, strengthening of river buffer zones, and erosion control cannot be delayed any further.
He stated that every industrial zone has an obligation to ensure its flood control and water management systems function effectively. Rajiv noted that IMIP is known as the epicentre of national nickel downstreaming, underpinning the global supply chain for battery and electric vehicle industries.
However, the tragedy has raised questions about ecological vulnerability and worker safety.
“If lives are lost, it means there is a chain of oversight that needs deeper examination. We cannot simply blame the weather. Industrial zones like IMIP must have measurable flood mitigation systems, from spatial planning and drainage capacity to catchment area management,” he said.
He therefore urged a comprehensive audit of watershed conditions in Morowali Regency, including the identification of active and former mining areas that have not been optimally rehabilitated.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Forestry, and local governments were asked to release the latest data on the extent of critical land, erosion levels, and water storage capacity in the area.
Furthermore, he emphasised that oversight must not stop at verifying work plan documents or companies’ periodic reports. The government needs to ensure rehabilitation implementation meets technical standards, he said.
“The Ministry of Forestry must be stricter in overseeing the granting and evaluation of permits, particularly those related to forest areas for mining activities. Every permit holder must carry out watershed rehabilitation in practice, not just on paper,” Rajiv asserted.
He added that the involvement of industrial operators in financing and implementing rehabilitation must be clarified. He referenced the obligation of environmental permit holders to carry out forest and land rehabilitation as part of their ecological responsibility.
“Industries that grow downstream bear moral and legal responsibility for upstream conditions. It is unfair if the burden of restoration falls entirely on the state. If rehabilitation is not carried out effectively, permits must be reviewed,” he explained.
In addition, Rajiv called for an integrated monitoring system based on satellite data and hydrological sensors to be installed in the catchment areas around Morowali. This would enable potential surges in water flow to be detected earlier and mitigation measures to be taken before water overflows into industrial zones, he said.
“With the support of satellite technology and field sensors, potential flow surges can be anticipated earlier,” added the legislator from the West Java II constituency.
Rajiv also reminded that the flood tragedy claiming workers’ lives at the IMIP complex must serve as a moment for correcting natural resource-based industrial development policies.
He said downstreaming is important for national economic resilience, but ecological sustainability and workplace safety are also foundations that must not be neglected. To that end, he called for an evaluation of the entire occupational health and safety system, particularly during extreme weather conditions.
“If watershed rehabilitation is neglected, we are saving up risk. Every rainy season will become a test, and the most vulnerable are the workers on the ground. Industry may grow, investment may flow in. But a single life lost must be a collective reflection,” he said.
Rajiv further called on the company to take full responsibility for the victims’ families, including ensuring social security entitlements and compensation are fulfilled without convoluted procedures.
“Moral and legal responsibility must be upheld,” Rajiv said.
According to information from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), a landslide occurred at the PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Labota Village, Bahodopi District, Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi on Wednesday (18 February).
In the incident, one person was reported dead and a number of heavy equipment units were buried. After the search and rescue team successfully found and identified the victim, the remains were handed over to the family on Thursday (19 February).