Watchdog loses lawsuit against Ladia Galaska project

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh

A court here ruled in favor of the government on Saturday over a lawsuit filed by a leading environmental watchdog against the controversial Ladia Galaska highway project in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.

The Banda Aceh District Court dismissed the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi)'s lawsuit against Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, the environment impact control agency chairman and the local settlement and regional infrastructure head.

Other defendants were the Aceh Legislative Council and CV Cipta Puga, which conducted the environment impact analysis (Amdal) on the project.

The panel of judges said Walhi's legal demand for the halt to the opening of the Ladia Galaska trans-Aceh highway in a protected forest was not acceptable.

The claim of the plaintiff that the project would damage the protected forest was not proven, they argued.

"Statements by expert witnesses presented in the trial show no evidence that there are ecological losses as a result of the Ladia Galaska development," presiding judge Syarifuddin told Saturday's four-hour hearing.

Apart from that, Walhi failed to prove that the government's environmental impact analysis used to defend the project was invalid, he said.

Walhi should have detailed the reasons why the Amdal was invalid in the lawsuit, Syarifuddin added.

He said that a number of photos and newspaper clippings showing environmental and forest damage presented by the plaintiff, could not be held as evidence before the court.

The court handed down the verdict after 25 hearings that started on Nov. 3 last year.

Bambang Antariksa, a lawyer for Walhi, deplored the court's decision, saying he and his colleagues would soon scrutinize the hard evidence they had presented to the court.

"We will conduct a study on the evidence by legal and environmental experts," he said.

The 44.89 kilometer-Ladia Galaska network cuts through hundreds of kilometers of protected forest area in Aceh to link the eastern and western coasts of the province through Peureulak, Pinding, Lokop, Central Aceh, Gayo Lues and Nagan Raya.

Walhi and other environmental groups in Indonesia and abroad have been particularly concerned about the damage the project will cause to the Leuser ecosystem including the orangutan's habitat in Sumatra.

The main section of the Ladia Galaska highway will cut through 100.16 kilometers of protected forest and 1.5 kilometers of forest conservation areas.

Furthermore, Geologist Eko Soebowo of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has said six of the nine planned routes would cross the Sumatra fault line and would thus be prone to earthquakes, landslides and collapse.

The Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure had said the road was necessary to link Aceh's eastern and western coasts to stimulate the rural economy of the western part of the province.