The draft of decree on mining operation in protected forests rejected

The ministry of forestry has turned down the draft of the presidential decree that will allow open-pit mining activities in protected forests for the lack of clarity especially those related to the requirements that should be met by mining companies before they carry out mining activities in the forest conservation areas, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.

?A number of stipulation in the planned presidential decree should be clarified before the decree is signed by the President,? the secretary general of the forestry ministry, Wahyudi Wardoyo, said.

The stipulation on mining area, control on mining activities and reclamation works should be further clarified so that related ministries such as the ministry of energy and mineral resources or the ministry of forests no longer need to issue additional ruling, he said.

The draft of the presidential decree on mining activities in protected forests is currently being formulated by an inter-ministerial team comprising of senior officials from the ministry of forests, the ministry of energy and mineral resources and the office of the coordinating minister for economy. (*)