Kontras files report against Romang Island gold mine to environment ministry

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (or better known as Kontras) reported gold mining firm PT Gemala Borneo Utama (GBU) to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry as the company?s operations for 10 years on Romang Island, Southwest Maluku Regency, in Maluku Province, has damaged the local environment and affected the livelihoods of the local people, Kompas reported on Tuesday.

?A number of environmental impacts have been felt, such as declining (production of) forest honey, damage to nutmeg and cloves crops, as well as the disappearance of seaweed due to the mining practice,? said Haris Azhar, Kontras Coordinator on Monday as quoted by the paper.

The paper said that the report has been received by the Director General of Environmental Law Enforcement at the ministry Rasio Ridho, who had also received complaints about the Romang Island case from members of the House of Representatives Commission VII on mining in October of last year.

The ministry has also been requested to check on the validity of the GBU environmental documents issued by the Maluku provincial administration. Haris said that a requirement for local villagers? participation in the process to prepare the environmental documents had been neglected.

GBU, a subsidiary of Sydney-based Robust Resources Ltd, holds a concession in a forest area based on the forest area borrow and use permit issued by the Ministry of Forestry in 2012, but according to Kontras, the gold mining exploration activities had not been conducted in line with regulations.

Rasio said that his office will dispatch a team to investigate the case in January 2017 including looking into the various permit documents of GBU.

Country General Manager of PT GBU Yusdi Sangadji said the company is welcome the planned investigation by the ministry. He suspected that the environmental issue raised against the company was mostly triggered by business competition. (*)