Not all miners can get forest lease permits: Official

By Samantha

Director for forest use at the forestry ministry, Hudoyo said not all mining companies will be able to apply for a forest lease permit despite the issuance of new regulation on the use of forest areas.

Hudoyo said that mining companies which will be able to get a legality to operate in forest area are only those whose areas are located in productive area and resettlement area (KPP-KPPL) based on the regional spatial planning (RTRW).

However, mining companies which have already operated without permits in forest areas according to the regional spatial planning, should be tried for a legal violation, he said.

?If miners operate in productive area and resettlement area according to the regional spatial planning, they can apply for a forest lease permit to be able to operate in forest areas, ? he said. ?However, if, based on the regional spatial planning, they have already operated in forest areas, they have violated the regulation. It means that they should first settle their legal problem,? he added.

Under the government regulation No.61/2012 on the revision of regulation No 24 on the use of forestry areas, mining companies whose concession areas overlapping with forest areas, could apply for a forest-lease permit to be able to conduct mining operation in the forest areas.

The forest lease permit will, however, be given only to miners which obtained their mining permits before the issuance of the Law No 26/2007 on spatial planning.

Editing by Adianto P. Simamora