Jakarta, CNN Indonesia – The results of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) coordination and supervision found an increase in the use of conservation and protected forest areas in five provinces during 2014-2017 to become coal concessions.
The five provinces in question are West Papua and Jambi for their respective conservation forest areas. Meanwhile, Papua, West Kalimantan, and South Sumatra are for protected forests.
Coordination and supervision in this sector are the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) effort to prevent criminal acts of corruption and to refund state funds fully.
In the latest report card for the report on the Arrangement of Coal Permits in the Coordination and Supervision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in May, it was stated that there were anomalous conditions in the five provinces. This finding confirms that an increase in the area or number of coal permits in the forest and protected forest areas has occurred in these various areas.
The increase in permit expansion, the report says, is possible if there is a change in the forest area, which is regulated through a Decree of the Minister of Environment and Forestry.
“This is because the forest areas in the five provinces above did not change from 2014 to 2017,” said the report quoted by CNNIndonesia.com, Monday (28/8).
The report stated that the licensing data documentation weakness was one of the reasons behind this anomaly. The report card also states that the evaluation and revocation of a mining license (IUP) can be an effective instrument to resolve overlapping coal permits in forest areas.
Total Concession Area
The area of conservation forest for coal permits in West Papua and Jambi is 2,775 Ha (2014) to 3,950 Ha (2017), and from zero to 2,115 Ha (2017). Meanwhile, the area of protected forest areas for coal in the other three provinces in Papua 240,019 Ha (2014) to 292,725 Ha (2017); West Kalimantan 18,414 Ha (2014) to 30,733 Ha (2017); and South Sumatra 3,412 Ha (2014) to 8,910 Ha (2017).
If calculated in total, the total concession area will reach 73,811 hectares.
The National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, Maryati Abdullah, said that the coal industry’s explosion condition had left a chaotic problem in coal governance that is increasingly complex. It started from issuing permits that do not follow procedures to overlapping in conservation or protected forest areas.
“This has resulted in environmental damage and has left a mine pit that has claimed lives,” said Maryati in her statement.
Data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s Directorate General of Planning in 2014 previously stated that the coal concession area for Mining License (IUP) in protected forests reached 5.19 million Coal Mining Concession Work Agreement (PKP2B) was 123,751 hectares.
For others, the Mining License area in conservation forest is 194,795 hectares and for Coal Mining Concession Work Agreement (PKP2B) is 101,998 hectares. (asa)