Singapore must help RI curb illegal sand mining, activists say
Singapore must help RI curb illegal sand mining, activists say
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government should seek to forge a bilateral cooperation with
Singapore to curb illegal sand mining here, which has caused
serious damage to the environment, a legislator and an
environmental activist said.
"The best way to end illegal sand quarrying is to establish
bilateral cooperation between the two countries," Priyo Budi
Santoso, a legislator on House of Representatives Commission VIII
for mining, energy and environmental affairs, told The Jakarta
Post on Friday.
Raja Siregar, a senior official with the Indonesian Forum for
the Environment (Walhi), agreed, saying the Singapore government
must play a role in the fight because much of the illegally
quarried sand eventually found its way to the island state.
The comments from the two experts come after the government
quietly issued a presidential decree in May that effectively
allows sand exports to Singapore.
The government temporarily banned sand quarrying and the
export of sand in February, in response to protests from
environmentalists that sand mining in the waters off Riau
province had damaged the marine environment. All of the sand
extracted off Riau, both legally and illegally, was exported to
Singapore, which used the commodity for coastal reclamation
projects.
Under Presidential Decree No. 33/2002, sea sand quarrying is
to be controlled and supervised by the central government,
through a special team led by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs
and Fisheries.
The decree states that all sand exports require a permit from
the central government, via the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The special government team is also expected to take measures
to help protect the marine environment, including through zoning
mechanisms.
Since the issuance of the presidential decree in May, the
Ministry of Trade and Industry has issued 71 licenses to sand
exporters, and some 3.7 million cubic meters of sand has been
exported to Singapore from Riau.
Walhi's Raja said the Singapore government must publish the
volume of its sand imports from Indonesia, to help ensure that no
illegally mined sand enters the island state, which has been
aggressive in expanding its land area.
"This requires bilateral cooperation between the two
governments," he said, adding that both Indonesia and Singapore
must take strict action against those involved in illegal sand
mining.
Priyo also said sand exports to Singapore largely benefited
the island state because the Indonesian sand was sold at very
low prices.
"This is not fair," he said, adding that the government must
interfere in the sand exports by setting a high floor price.
Singapore is estimated to require some 1.8 billion cubic
meters of sand over the next eight years for its land reclamation
work.
Riau has been exporting sand to Singapore for many years. The
sand is sold for S$1.5 per cubic meter to international brokers,
who then sell the sand to Singapore construction firms for S$15
per cubic meter.
The uncontrolled sand extraction from the coastal areas of
Riau has caused severe environmental damage, leading to the
disappearance of a number of small islets from the province.
The government and the Riau provincial administration
previously announced several measures to curb the illegal sand
quarrying. However, these measures failed to halt the quarrying,
which is believed to be backed by military people and
international syndicates.
In February, three ministers -- Minister of Trade and Industry
Rini MS Soewandi, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Rokhmin Damhuri and State Minister for the Environment Nabiel
Makarim -- signed a decree temporarily banning sand quarrying and
exports to Singapore until measures to protect the environment
were in place.