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Illegal mine found in orangutan habitat in W. Kalimantan
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An official with the West Kalimantan Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA) holds a 3-year old male orangutan in Sintang regency on March, 4 2017. (Photo courtesy of/West Kalimantan BKSDA)
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joint team of Environment and Forestry Ministry investigators and West Kalimantan Police personnel has uncovered an unlicensed bauxite mine inside a protected habitat for orangutans in Ketapang regency, West Kalimantan.
Investigators believe the mining activities in the Sungai Tulak area were carried by bauxite miner PT Laman Mining without a forest area utilization permit, according to the ministry’s forest protection director Sustyo Iriyono.
Sungai Tulak is located in the buffer zone of Mount Palung National Park, an orangutan habitat in West Kalimantan.
The investigation started when the ministry received information about the alleged illegal mining from locals.
On Aug. 20, the ministry, in collaboration with the police, raided the mining site and found three excavators operating and four others in a nearby location.
Investigators have named the company a suspect in the case and charged it with illegal mining under the 2013 Law on deforestation, which carries a maximum fine of Rp 50 billion (US$3.43 million).
The team is currently closely investigating the possible roles of the company’s board of directors and commissioners, who are suspected of being among the masterminds of the illegal mining activities.
"These activities not only harm the country, but also damage the ecosystem and animal habitat and pose serious threats to the livelihood of the [local] people,” the ministry’s Law Enforcement Director General Rasio Ridho Sani said in a press release on Sunday, adding that the ministry was also considering whether to press money-laundering charges. (ris/ipa)
