Environmental problems in former mining sites across the country were in the spotlight after the issue was raised during the recent presidential candidate debate.  

Bangka Belitung, which was among major tin-producing provinces, is facing environmental problems. To deal with them, the Bangka Belitung provincial government has received a commitment from the German government, which has expressed its wish to help reclaim a former tin mining site  in the province.

“We support the plan of the German government to conduct reclamation in a former tin mining site,” said Bangka Belitung Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head Ferry Insani in the provincial capital of Pangkalpinang on Friday.

He said the reclamation project was the result of a cooperation between the Indonesian and German governments to revitalize crisis areas to help improve economic activity.

He said Germany had imported tin from Indonesia. “The reclamation program is a pilot project because of the country’s responsibility as an importer of tin produced in the region,” he added as reported by Antara.

Ferry said he had not received details of the plan, however, he would coordinate with the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and state-owned tin company PT Timah to discuss the plan.

Svann Langguth, a diplomat at the German Embassy responsible for science and technology affairs, said the program was part of Germany’s commitment as a tin-importing country, to deal with environmental issues at former tin mining sites. (bbn)