Walhi pushes Ladia Galaksor suit for environmental damage
Walhi pushes Ladia Galaksor suit for environmental damage
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
The fate of a controversial road project partly blamed for the
recent flash flood which claimed at least 151 lives in North
Sumatra may be determined in court.
The Indonesian Forum on Environment (Walhi) is pursuing its
lawsuit against Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh in relation to the
construction of the Ladia Galaska project, and wants the project
stopped. It suggests that the project, which failed an
environmental impact assessment, could easily be replaced by a
railway, which would not cause as much environmental damage,
because illegal loggers could not readily use a train for their
activities.
Walhi turned down an offer from the Aceh administration to
settle the matter out of court because the latter "is not
serious," its lawyer Bambang Antariksa said on Monday.
"Some 30 percent of the road construction has been completed
and it's getting closer to the protected forest," Bambang said,
referring to the Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL).
The project has been opposed by Walhi and other organizations
as 160 kilometers out of the planned 505-kilometer-long road cuts
through the national park.
On Oct. 3 Walhi filed the lawsuits against the Aceh governor,
the Aceh settlement and regional infrastructure agency and the
Aceh council for the construction of the road network, which is
to link the west and east coasts of northern Sumatra.
The project, apart from illegal logging, has been partially
blamed for the deadly flash flood in Langkat regency, which is
part of the national park.
The central government is sending a team to investigate the
causes of the flood.
It is believed that the road would be used by illegal loggers,
thus harming forest biodiversity. TNGL, home to many rare animal
and plant species, has lost some 20 percent of 950,000 hectares
of forest due to illegal logging.
TNGL is also important for people in Aceh and neighboring
North Sumatra for its capability to provide water for over four
million people.
Bambang said that Walhi agreed that the road would end
the isolation of residents in 23 villages and towns.
"But we oppose it as the road harms the forests," he said.
Bambang said that the road construction would also carry the
potential to cause more floods and landslides as it could cut
through steep and fragile hills inside the national park.
Last year, the southern part of Aceh suffered widespread
flooding, which caused many deaths as well as crop failures
estimated to have cost billions of rupiah.
The government has yet to decide whether to continue the road
project. Forestry Minister M. Prakosa and State Minister for the
Environment Nabiel Makarim have also expressed opposition to the
project.
However, Minister of Settlement and Infrastructure Soenarno
has claimed that the road project would not increase illegal
logging.