Borneo’s Longest River Is Increasingly Damaged

Kompas/Dionisius Reynaldo Triwibowo

One of the two excavators used for illegal mining was confiscated by Kapuas Police officers in Sei Murui, Mantangai district, Kapuas regency, Central Kalimantan, on Thursday (16/3). Police officers also detained four suspected illegal miners. Illegal mining has encroached on forests along the Sei Murui River, a tributary of the Kapuas River, covering an area of about 10 hectares.

The Kapuas River, the longest river in Borneo, is damaged from the upstream to the downstream. Its cloudy water is yellowish and its embankments are full of abandoned mining sites. The gleam of gold and zircon has blinded resource hunters for 25 years.

During the past week, Kapuas Police officers combed illegal mining sites in three tributaries of the Kapuas River, namely the Murui River, the Mentaring River and the Mangkutub River.