JAKARTA (22/9) – As a solution for deforestation issue in Indonesia, Land and Forest Governance/Tata Kelola Hutan dan Lahan (TKHL) hasn’t been fully recognized by the public. It’s not only about the lack of awareness toward TKHL, but also has spread into another sector such as regulation, economic, and law.
One of the industries of natural resources that has been thriving in Indonesia is the mining sector. There are at least 6,3 million Ha mining permits that are still operating in several areas in Indonesia. Out of that number, 1,37 million Ha of the area is still located in the conservation forest, and another 4,93 million Ha of areas is still operating in the protected forest. Until this day, there are almost 4.000 Izin Usaha Pertambangan (IUP) which statuses aren’t Clean and Clear (CnC) yet. So the government had to take some serious actions.
But if there was a positive side effect we could take from that issue, it would be Selamatkan Hutan dan Lahan melalui Perbaikan Tata Kelola (SETAPAK) program, a special movement that was initiated by local society. Since founded in 2011, SETAPAK has always convinced that great TKHL is a key to environmental conservation and sustainable growth in favor of disadvantaged groups. In order to do that, everyone needs to get their hands on it, especially the government.
“The government needs to limit or even stop the permit of extractive industries that create damages to the environment and let us down economically and socially. The government has always said that the companies from extractive industries give a great amount of investment that could benefit us. But in reality, we can’t really feel that benefit. It makes our lives even more miserable,” said Lili Hasanuddin, Program Director of SETAPAK.
The extractive industries in mining sector cause a lot of social impacts, one of them is present in the form of traumatization in the society. Take a look at East Kalimantan. It’s one of the provinces in which many coal mining exploitation happen without legal permit. Even the companies’ status is not clear. The location of mining pits is so close with forest area and people’s residency. In Samarinda, there are hundreds of opened mining pits that put danger in local people’s lives. It has even taken the lives of 25 people, most of them are children.
Since there are too many problems found, we need a collaboration between the government, local society, and media to create rooms for discussion and talk about forestry and its complexities. It will encourage people to continue putting efforts in order to have a better mining regulation.
That’s why SETAPAK (programsetapak.org) works together with Obsat (obsat.beritagar.id) to hold a public discussion with “Mining Commercialization vs The Future of Indonesian Forest” as its main theme in Jakarta, Thursday (22/8). As a regular discussion program from the news outlet beritagar.id, Obsat has become a discussion forum for people to talk about real, actual events that happen in Indonesia. There are also one or two guests who are considered competent in certain areas.
According to Lili, the discussion is important to voice people’s messages about environment and how a proper TKHL can improve our quality of lives. The messages are addressed to the government and companies who have put damage in environment. Lili also hopes that people can help each other out to monitor the practice of extractive industries toward natural resources and continue supporting environmental conservation.
About SETAPAK
Since founded in 2011, SETAPAK has always convinced that great TKHL is a key to environmental conservation and sustainable growth in favor of disadvantaged groups. SETAPAK also supports the decentralization of Indonesia government to make sure that transparency, management accountability, protection, and distribution of natural resources will always be included in TKHL.
About Obsat
Obsat is a regular discusiion program from the news outlet Beritagar.id. This event has become a discussion forum for people to talk about real, actual events that happen in Indonesia. There are also one or two guests who are considered competent in certain areas. Stands for Obrolan Langsat, Obsat, has now been widely known because of its relaxed, intimate, and grounded style in carrying out serious topics.