Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung | Fri, 10/30/2009 1:45 PM
Newly appointed Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan has called for an end to quarrying and disaster mitigation efforts that could alter the landscape of Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait off South Lampung.
The ministry has never issued permits for quarrying or disaster mitigation on the active volcano, and insists large-scale quarrying is illegal.
"The Mt. Anak Krakatau area in South Lampung is a marine natural preservation area that must be protected," said Zulkifli on Thursday.
"Exploitation in the area is regarded as a violation of the 1999 Environmental Law and the 1990 Environmental Conservation Law."
Lampung Conservation and Natural Resources Center (BKSDA) head Ambar Dwiyono said his office had previously issued a permit to PT Ascho Unggul Pratama (AUP) to carry out a disaster mitigation survey on the volcano, adding it was not allowed to quarry sand.
"We strictly prohibit samples of sand, soil, rocks or plants from being taken from the area, much less allow sand quarrying," he said.
"If any quarrying has taken place, we will revoke their permit."
AUP managing director Suharsono, however, told The Jakarta Post his company was not only allowed to carry out a disaster mitigation study, but also sell sand from the volcano.
He added the sand was sold as "Mt. Anak Krakatau waste".
"But we're not actually quarrying it. We only pump the sand through pipes inserted 30 meters deep into the mountain slope," he said.
"We have all the permits for this," he added, wielding a sheaf of papers.
"The project has gone through a comprehensive analysis in 2004. We are equipped with the technical blueprints, as well as one-year and five-year planning."
Suharsono said AUP's survey involved volcanologists, geologists and environmentalists from the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and Lampung University.
He added the experts all agreed that sand and rocks from the volcano's previous eruptions must be carted away to minimize the impacts of any subsequent eruption.
"The current volume of solid material is around 5.5 million cubic meters," Suharsono said.
"When the volcano erupted in 1883, it spewed out 7 million cubic meters of material. We're trying to reduce that to 3.4 million cubic meters to maintain the volcano's height and minimize its eruption impacts."
PVMBG head Surono, however, rebuffed Suharsono's statements, saying his office was a government agency authorized to handle volcanoes and volcanic disaster mitigation issues.
"If someone from the PVMBG consults for a private company, they can't be regarded as representing the center," he said.
"I've often been asked to issue permits for disaster mitigation studies in the area, including quarrying, but I rejected them all on the grounds that such activities should not be undertaken."
