House supports mining ban on protected forests
Thursday, January 31 2002 - 01:24 AM WIB
?The Commission III support the forestry minister. Let alone open-mine operations, even other less destructive activities could not be allowed to use protected forests,? Rusnain Yahya, the vice chairman of the Commission III of the House said. He said the Commission C strongly supported Prakoso?s stand.
He was commenting on Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro?s statement that he would lobby other ministers in the cabinet to revise the controversial Forestry Law No 41, which banned the use of protected forests for open-mine activities.
Purnomo said if the government could not amend the forestry law, which was issued late in 1999 to promote sustainable forest development, it should come with a clear decision related to the permits that were issued before the issuance of the law. There should be an exemption in the law.
Rusnain said that if the forest conservation areas were converted into productive lands and then used them for mine operations, the impact would be fatal for the environment.
Aditya Sumanagara, the president of state owned general mining company PT Aneka Tambang, said earlier that several mining operators had suspended mining projects worth about US$1.5 billion in eastern part of Indonesia due the banning of open-mining operation on protected forests.
Most of the banned mining projects received permits before the issuance of the controversial law. (*)