EXCLUSIVE: Govt forms task force on mining in protected forests
Friday, September 29 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
The government has established a task force to study the possibility for mining investors to develop mining resources in protected forests, according to a decree.
Coordinating Minister of Economy Rizal Ramli issued the decree on September 18 in response to the protests by mining investors against the Forestry Law No. 41/1999 which bans the development of open-pit mines in protected forests.
Rizal said in the decree, whose copy was made available to Petromindo.Com, the so-called Coordinating Team for the Study on Mining Development in Forestry Areas is assigned with the task of studying the "utilization of forestry areas, especially protected forests, for mining activities so that a significant added value can be obtained."
Rizal noted that mining activities in protected forests could only be performed through open-pit system.
However, he said, a total of 150 holders of mining contract of work (COW) had spent a lot of investment for exploration and exploitation activities in the areas.
He also noted that the government currently needed foreign investment, including mining investment, to accelerate the country's economic recovery.
The Coordinating Team for the Study on Mining Development in Forestry Areas is divided into two groups, that is the supervisory team and executive team.
The supervisory team will provide guidelines for the executive team to "perform coordinated and comprehensive study on the utilization of forestry areas for mining activities." It will actively monitors the activities of the executive team.
According to the decree, the supervisory team is chaired by third deputy for natural and marine resources at the coordinating ministry of economy.
The team's members are the director general of general mining at the ministry of energy and mineral resources; the head of forestry and plantation design planning body at the ministry of agriculture and forestry; the director general of general government and regional autonomy (PUMDA) at the ministry of home affairs and autonomy; and the director general of financial institutions at the ministry of finance.
The executive team will make a comprehensive study on the utilization of forests for environmentally friendly mining operations and evaluate the reviews made by the governmental institutions and professional organizations on the optimization of mining ventures in forestry areas.
The executive team has finally to formulate a national policy for mining development in forestry areas.
According to the decree, the executive team is chaired by the director general of general mining, who will be assisted by the head of forestry and plantation design planning body as vice chairman; third deputy for mining affairs at the coordinating ministry of economy as first secretary; and the secretary to director general of general mining as second secretary.
The team's members are the director of oil and non-tax revenue at the ministry of finance; the director of international tax relations at the ministry of finance; the director of tax at the ministry of finance; the head of the legal bureau at the ministry of agriculture and forestry; the head of the legal bureau of the ministry of energy and mineral resources; the director of regional revenue and finance at the ministry of finance; the head of regional laws and policies examination office at the ministry of home affairs and autonomy.
The executive director of the Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) is also a member of the executive team.
The decree gives three months for the task force to complete their works. (godang)