BKSDA revokes company license

Oyos Saroso H.N. ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Bandarlampung   |  Tue, 11/03/2009 1:07 PM  |  The Archipelago

The Lampung office of the Natural Resources and Conservation Center (BKSDA) has revoked the license of a company to conduct disaster mitigation mapping at Mount Anak Krakatau when it was found stealing sand from the area.

The center said it would immediately talk with company PT Ascho Unggul Pratama's (PT AUP) managing director.

"A day after *The Jakarta Post* told me about the presence of vessels *to transport the sand*, I asked my employees to expel them," Lampung BKSDA chief Ambar Dwiyono said Monday.

"Fortunately they didn't get a chance to take the sand."

The amount of sand taken by AUP by barges to Banten is still unclear.

In a number of interviews with the Post, Ambar gave conflicting statements.

Ambar initially denied AUP had vessels to transport the sand, but when the Post showed him photographic evidence he changed his statement.

Ambar's initial view differed from that of AUP managing director Suharsono, who acknowledged his company had installed pipes to pump the sand.

Suharsono also did not deny the report in the Post on Oct. 23 that his company had taken sand as part of disaster mitigation efforts at Mt. Anak Krakatau.

"We are working legally because we obtained a permit from the South Lampung regent and BKSDA chief," he said.

"Pak Surono's *Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center chief* comments to the Post were inaccurate. "He is a mathematician, not a geologist."

A number of fishermen on Sebesi Island have voiced their concern over the presence of sand dredgers and barges since Oct. 18.

The vessels stopped operating on Oct. 24.

Lampung BKSDA employee Akhyar, 55, whose job is to observe the area in and around Mt. Anak Krakatau, said he had noticed AUP employees pumping sand into a barge, but was not sure how much.

"The barge measured 21 by 100 meters," Akhyar said. "I immediately asked them to stop working, pack their equipment and leave."

Hendrawan, director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment's Lampung office, said his office would immediately report anyone who was involved in the illegal sand quarrying on Mt. Anak Krakatau to authorities.

The Lampung Police are currently investigating the alleged sand theft by the AUP around Mt. Anak Krakatau on the pretext of survey and disaster mitigation.

Lampung Police chief detective Sr. Comr. Darmawan Sutawijaya said his division had coordinated with the Lampung Forestry Office and the BKSDA to conduct an investigation. Additionally, the Lampung Police have formed a team to collect data and facts on the alleged illegal quarrying.

"We will immediately process the case according to law if we find the evidence," he said.

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