Riau Islands to resume sand export

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

Riau Islands provincial government is planning to lobby Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu to allow local businessmen to resume exporting sand from the sea, a top government official said on Wednesday. The provincial government would also soon draft a bylaw that regulates the business.

"Riau Islands has vast sea sand resources and that potential shall be explored for the benefit of our community. If the business is revived, it can enhance provincial revenue and offer prosperity to all," said Riau Islands Governor ad interim Ismeth Abdullah.

The plan was made a year after the central government banned exporting sand in the Riau Islands and Riau provinces. The policy, which was launched in January last year, was aimed at prohibiting sea sand exploration and exports from those two provinces to the neighboring country of Singapore, which needed the sand to reclaim land.

The activities have been blamed for damaging the environment in the provinces. Several islets there are under serious threat of disappearing due to erosion as protective sand barriers are removed. The sand mining will also threaten coral reefs and marine ecosystem.

There is also concern that there will be a possibility that the sea border between the two countries will cut further into what is now Indonesian territory if the islets between the two countries disappear.

The last concern was that Singapore used Riau's sand to expand the extent of its territory through its coastal reclamation.

Responding to those fears, especially the environmental one, the governor said that the fears would be addressed in the bylaw. To avoid environmental damage, for example, the bylaw will spell out details on, among others, which areas are eligible for sea sand exploration. The bylaw will also rule on revenue sharing between the provincial and central government.

A local businessman praised the new plan by the provincial government. Businessman Achmad Dedi said that he had already obtained a license from the Riau Islands government in 2002 to explore sand from the sea in an area in the province, but the license was suddenly revoked following the central government's decision a year later that banned the business.

There are hundreds of license holders in the province, so that if the ban is lifted, sand exporting would thrive in the province, said Dedi.

However, the plan was opposed by local councillor, who said that the business had damaged the environment.

M. Nabil, a provincial councillor from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said that there was evidence that the exploration had damaged the environment, which could be found in Karimun regency.

"The color of sea in the regency has turned from blue to brown, due to extensive sea sand mining over the past few decades," said Nabil.

The sea sand mining in the province began in 1976, but the discovery of technology over the past few years had made sand mining more extensive. The extensive mining was also attributed to aggressive land reclamation by Singapore companies. Singapore paid only US$1.5 per cubic meter.

"Sand mining business is not the only solution. The government can enhance provincial revenue from many other ways," said Nabil.