Residents demand compensation for damage to mangrove seedlings
Residents demand compensation for damage to mangrove seedlings
Puji Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Siak, Riau
Hundreds of farmers in Bunsur village located on Padang Island,
Riau province have since August been complaining about damage
that has been done to millions of their mangrove seedlings.
According to the farmers, the damage, which inflicted great
loss upon them, was caused by an oil spill at a local oil
refinery.
A farmer from Bunsur village, Syafruddin, 41, told The Jakarta
Post recently that local residents have made concerted efforts in
demanding compensation for their damaged plants from PT Kondur
Petroleum, a subsidiary of the Bakrie Brothers consortium that
operates the oil refinery, but thus far their efforts had not
borne fruit.
"The matter is still not settled, so in the meanwhile we've
been deprived of our livelihood. Millions of our mangrove plants
have died. What will we replant the damaged coastal area with?"
said Syarifuddin in Bunsur village.
The damage to mangrove seedlings in the area appeared
considerable when the Post observed first hand the impact of the
oil spill last week. The problem has caused damage to at least
five kilometers of mangrove forest lining the coast on Padang
Island, some eight hours land journey south of Pekanbaru, the
capital of Riau province.
The trees formed a barrier against coastal abrasion and had
died due to an oil spill that has persisted for the past four
months.
Syafruddin added that he and hundreds of residents have since
requested compensation from the company, even calling on the Siak
legislative council to immediately resolve the problem.
Bunsur village chief, Radison, told reporters that residents
had sent a letter to the company on August 13, in which it stated
that 193 farmers were demanding compensation for the 3,247,318
seedlings damaged by the oil pollution.
"The matter has been previously discussed by officials at the
Siak administration, but is still pending. Farmers had demanded
compensation of Rp 2.75 billion, but the company is unwilling to
pay such an amount," said Radison.
Separately, PT Kondur Petroleum spokesman Darul Hidayah
confirmed the compensation demand from Bunsur residents.
According to Darul, his company is looking to settle the
matter through the local administration and the Northern Sumatra
Region's State Petroleum Resource Regulator (BP Migas).
However, Darul complained that the number of mangrove
seedlings that had been destroyed by the oil spill had not been
stated in the findings. "We'll only compensate those affected by
the oil spill, but not all of them," said Darul.
He said that in principle, the company was willing to
compensate farmers but this was awaiting the outcome of a hearing
between the company and the local council.
"We're aware that there are risks in this business, such as
oil spills from pipe leaks and so on. That's why we are prepared
to pay compensation. The company is willing to compensate 10
percent of the loss or Rp 275 million. But the farmers have
refused to accept this amount," he said.
Darul added that efforts to conserve mangrove forests had been
conducted by the company since 1994, such as replanting mangrove
trees in Tanjung Mayong and around Kurau jetty, which are located
not far from Bunsur village.
Mangrove forests function to protect coasts from storms,
erosion and abrasion, as well as providing habitat for various
animals especially fish and bird species. Mangrove forests also
serve to maintain the climatic equilibrium of an area.