?Mount Soeharto? should not be developed into coal mining

Non-governmental organizations and environmental experts have called on the government to ban mining activities on the protected Mount Soeharto forest conservation in East Kalimantan, Kompas reported on Saturday.

The call was made during a seminar held in Tanggarong, East Kalimantan on Saturday. The seminar was chaired Niel Makinuddin, with speakers including the chairman of the local mining policy watch, former minister of forestry and plantations Marzuki Usman and expert staff from the office of State Minister for Environment

The speakers at the seminar said that turning the protected forest into a mining area would worsen the environmental damage in the conserved area. The government should instead carry out a reforestation program to save the area, they said.

The Mount Soeharto comprises of 19,865 hectares of protected forests and areas for safari purpose, 4,400 hectares used for tourism purpose, 1,500 hectares for education, 22,183 hectares for reforestation research activities, 3,504 hectares for Wanariset Samboja research activities, and 2,700 hectares allocated for camping areas of the national scout.

The East Kalimantan administration plans to develop the protected forest into coal mining in a bid to reduce forest fires. The protected forest has often become the source of the forest fire in the area. (*)