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Government urged to issue regulation on karst ecology
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) urged the government on Friday to issue a government regulation on karst ecology to ensure the preservation of karst areas.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo meets representatives of cement factory protesters from the Mount Kendeng area in Central Java. Jokowi has ordered a reassessment of mining operations by PT Semen Indonesia in the karst area. (Presidential Press Bureau/Edi)
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) urged the government on Friday to issue a government regulation on karst ecology to ensure the preservation of karst areas.
“The regulation should be a legal 'umbrella' for karst areas and for utilization of karst resources for common interests without violating human rights,” Komnas HAM commissioner Muhammad Nurkhoiron said, adding that the government started consulting the commission about the regulation in 2015.
Komnas HAM recorded that around 8 percent of 1.9 million kilometers of Indonesia’s land was karst terrain, and social conflict often occurred over developing and utilizing karst regions and resources due to a lack of transparency between companies and local people about the utilization of such regions, he added.
As an example, the people of the Mount Kendeng area in the northern part of Central Java have been fighting for years to stop the development of cement factories they believe would threaten their livelihoods and their sources of water.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ordered a postponement in the development of the factories on Tuesday and an evaluation carried out.
Komnas HAM staff member Mimin Dwi Hartono noted that an energy and mineral resources ministerial decree issued in 2011 on karst regions did not stipulate the utilization and preservation of such areas. Therefore, it is believed that the issuance of a government regulation would minimize conflict between local people and enterprises. (wnd/bbn)
