Controversy over planned gold mining:

Controversy over planned gold mining activities in Jember regency, East Java, continues. Local people's resistance against the planned mining does not subside down but on the contrary it heightens. The last rejection comes from the Meru Betiri National Park, whose areas would likely be affected by the planned gold mining..

The head of Meru Betiri National Park, Ir. Indra Arinal, said that the planned gold mining activities in Jember, if it is approved and proceeds as planned, it will force Jember to pay a high cost.

The mining activities would affect water catchment areas, and it would eventually deplete water reserves, and this would cause Jember to suffer from dry spell.

"This Meru Betiri National Park since the beginning functions as the water reserves for people in the surrounding area. If this area is mined, then the water catchment areas would lost its function," Indra said.

Speaking at a seminar on the planned gold mining, Indra called on the local administration to review planned mining activities in Jember.

He contended that the project did not give enough benefits to local people, compared to the destruction it would cause.

"Now, about 50 percent of Jember gross regional products of Rp 2.1 trillion comes from agriculture and plantations. if the mining project proceeds, it will abolish productions from farming and plantation sectors," he said.

Speaking at the same seminar, Geologist Eko Teguh Paripurno of UPN Veteran University in Yogyakarta expressed his outright opposition against the planned gold mining project.

Eko even rejected all gold mining activities in the country. He contended that current gold mining operation in Indonesia did not significantly benefit local people, but rather it benefited mostly the investors, while local people and the country bore the risks and the impacts of the mining. It reflected and revived capitalistic practices in Indonesia.

He contended that up until now, there had not a single gold mining technology that was environmentally friendly. He added that all mining activities caused environmental destruction from the very beginning.

Meanwhile, Agus Lutfi MA, a staff lecturer at Jember University, said that the planned gold mining project in Jember should be seen in a fair manner, from the benefits and the risks that it would bring.

He noted that based on the aerial photograph made by the investor, PT Jember Metal, Jember had around 80,000 tons of gold ore.

"If that data is correct, and the project truly, actively employs local people, it will bring welfare to the people. Not only it will give additional income to local administration, but also bring about improvement in local people's income," he said.

Meanwhile, the head of the Jember Council's special team to handle gold mining project, Machmud Sardjujono, said that he did not get enough inputs from the seminar as most speakers opposed the mining project.

"We want balanced inputs, both the risks and the losses as well as the benefits that the gold mining project will bring to the people," he said.

Machmud said that he had consulted Junior Minister of Forestry Nur Machmudi Ismail and they agreed that investors may not touch preserved forests.

"We guarantee that there will be no preserved forests, no national parks, no plantation areas that will be sacrificed for the gold mining project. Of the total 60,000 hectares the investor proposed to us, we will only allow them to mine around 6,000 hectares of land, and this is outside those forest areas," he said. (*)