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.