Purnomo urges President to review "mining on protected forests" policy

Minister of energy and mineral resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro urged President Megawati Sukarnoputri to review the ban on conducting open pit mining activities in protected forests.

In his letter to Megawati dated November 22 this year, Purnomo said that the implementation of Forestry Law No. 41 in 1999 which bans open pit mining in protected forests had caused some 150 mining firms suspend their exploration activities.

?The government of Indonesia had signed the contracts with those companies before the issuance of Forestry Law and those contracts are still legally binding. They spent substantial amount of money on explorations activities,? said Purnomo in his letter.

He informed that some companies had threatened to pullout from Indonesia, and some even mulling to sue the government for not honoring the contract.

Purnomo urged the President to at least allow mining firms that had got the licenses prior to issuance of Forestry Law to resume their activities.

?The Forestry Law had caused US$ 3.2 billion mining investment to come to a halt within the next few years,? he said

Purnomo went even further to ask the President to review Law No. 41/ 1999 especially article 38 which bans open pit mining in protected forests.

?Forestry Law No. 41 is a negative factor to long-term investment in mining and energy sector and, according to People?s Assembly (MPR) decree No. IX/2001, such law must be amended or replaced,? said Purnomo.

He said that the environmental damage caused by mining operations in Indonesia was highly exaggerated.

?Total land that was being exploited for mining activities in not more than 100,000 hectares in 2000, and most of them are being reclamated. That figure is far smaller than land destruction caused by logging operation of 15,5 million hectares in 1998 alone,? he said. (godang)