Jakarta Green-Lights More Mining In Protected Forests

"INDONESIA has decreed that certain open-cut mining operations can resume in protected forests, providing a measure of security to mining firms, including Australian-owned Newcrest Mining.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri and her Cabinet have recognised the validity of mining contracts signed before a 1999 forestry law prohibited open-cut mining in protected forests.

These forests are protected mainly for watershed management and rate a level of protection below conservation forests. Even so, the decision has outraged environmental groups and activists who have dubbed it a justification for forest devastation.

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"In our opinion, the issuing of this decree means the Government has legalised the destruction of forest in Indonesia," said Walhi director Longgena Ginting. "We are really saddened by it," he said, adding that the decree was further proof that the Government didn't care about environmental issues."

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