Preserved forests become mining sites

Hundreds of traditional gold miners from Mandor village in Pontianak district staged a protest at the West Kalimantan legislative body building on Monday, demanding that the authorities would not stop their gold mining activities inside preserved forests.

They contended that the mining areas allocated for them in Mandor village had no more contained enough old ore, and therefore, they had to expand their operation into nearby preserved forests.

"It's true that in Mandor there are a number of locations that have been declared as people's mining sites, but that areas do not hold enough gold mining potentials. If we are only allowed to mind gold in those designated areas, what we will get?" said Djunaedy, the spokesman for the demonstrators.

Responding to the protest, the head of the United Development Party faction at the provincial legislative body, Firmansyah, said that he could understand the plight the demonstrators had been experiencing.

However, if the House defended their interests, it would only defend short-term interest, without considering long-term consequence of their mining activities.

He noted that their mining activities had been endangering not only the forests, but also the Kapuas river, because use alluvial and mercury in their gold mining activities, and they dispose the waste of the mining to Kapuas river. And this causes great pollution in the River that has become the heart of living in West Kalimantan. (*)