T

he government has revealed plans to amend the law on natural resource conservation, which could pave the way for mining companies to exploit the country's rich mineral resources in protected forests.

Director general for forest protection and natural conservation at the Forestry Ministry, Daruri, said that many mineral resources, including coal or geothermal sources were located in conservation forests.

"We are now reviewing articles prohibiting mining activities in conservation forests," Daruri told a workshop Wednesday.

The 1990 Natural Resources Conservation Law prohibits the mining sector from exploiting mineral resources in conservation areas.

Meanwhile, the 1999 Forest Law stipulates that non-forest activities can only be conducted in both protected and production forests.

Daruri, however, immediately warned environmental activists not to politicize the plans.

"We will only change the law if there is guarantee that mining activities will not damage conservation forests," he said.

"But we need a law as an umbrella for conserving the forest."

He said that about 70 percent of geothermal sources were located below conservation forests.

"One thing for sure is that we will continue prohibiting the transformation of conservation forests into plantations," he said.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan in his opening speech at the workshop also acknowledged the abundance of mining resources in conservation areas that could not be exploited due to restrictions in the 1999 Forestry Law.

He said that on the other hand, the country needed to meet its economic growth target of 7 percent in 2014, which could be reached by creating a conducive investment climate, including in the forestry sector.

"The development of the forestry sector must also adapt to national development by ensuring sustainable forest management," he said.

Zulkifli has put the protection of forests as one of his priorities over the next five years to help fight global warming.

The executive director of the Indonesian Mining Association, Priyo Pribadi, said the 1999 Forestry Law and other regulations had hampered mining companies from exploiting mineral resources in forests.

He said that many mining companies had secured permits for exploration activities and feasibility studies from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

"But such permits are useless when there are no permits from the forestry ministry to allow such activities," he told the workshop.

The association also called on the government to revise the 1999 law and a 2004 presidential decree, which only allows 13 companies to operate in protected areas.

He said the mining sector contributed to 33 percent of the state budget, with 29 percent from oil and gas and the remaining from coal and mineral mining.

The government has long been under pressure from environmental activists over mining activities in forests that have damaged the environment and left people around the mining operations in poverty.

Indonesia is home to 120 million hectares of rainforest, making it the third-largest rainforest country after Brazil and Congo.