Vice President Orders Illegal Mine Closure

The Vice President said the Perpres on former mine rehabilitation would regulate all regions in Indonesia. Environmental damage due to illegal mining had also been found in Bogor, Bengkulu and North Sulawesi.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

People unroll a sheet of tarpaulin for erecting a temporary shelter on 26 Jan. 2020 in Hegarmanah kampong of Kiara Pandak village, Sukajaya district, Bogor. The government has moved 84 families to temporary shelters in preparation for relocating them permanently from the kampong, which stands in a disaster hazard zone.

RANGKASBITUNG, KOMPAS – Post-disaster mapping has found that environmental damage was behind the flash floods that hit Bogor, West Java, and Lebak, Banten, in early January. Illegal gold mining and deforestation were deemed as environmental destructions that led to disaster. The government said that it would maintain its commitment to closing illegal mines.

“In the future, [illegal] mining must be ceased. We’ve planned post closure steps to be carried out. There is a plan to issue a presidential regulation [Perpres] to address post-mining management,” Vice President Ma’ruf Amin said after a tree-planting event at the Rangkasbitung State Building in Lebak on Thursday (30/1/2020).