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Activists slam regency over waste at protected forest
Environmental activists have condemned the alleged illegal use of protected forest as a landfill by the Samosir regency in North Sumatra, calling on the administration to put an end to the practice as pollution hits the tourism area surrounding the famous Lake Toba
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span>Environmental activists have condemned the alleged illegal use of protected forest as a landfill by the Samosir regency in North Sumatra, calling on the administration to put an end to the practice as pollution hits the tourism
area surrounding the famous Lake Toba.
Samosir Green Community coordinator Fernando Sitanggang claimed the protected forest, located near Lake Toba, had been used to dispose of waste for years and had troubled residents in the area because of its stench and water pollution.
He said his community and residents had protested against the practice many times to the regency administration, but to no avail.
"Up to this day, waste disposal in the protected forest is still going on. We're worried that if we let this go on, it will negatively affect the surrounding environment, especially near Lake Toba," Fernando told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He claimed that about five tons of waste had been left in the dump site in the protected forest, mainly from households, offices and the tourism sector.
He said the Samosir administration had previously dumped waste at a site near residential areas in the Panguruan district, earning protests from the residents. The protests prompted the administration to turn the protected forest into a dumpsite, Fernando said, lambasting the administration for not having a clear waste management solution.
"It's a wonder how the Samosir administration seems unable to find another place to dispose of the waste, when the region is so vast. Why turn an area in the protected forest into a waste disposal site?" he asked.
Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) advocacy and campaign manager Fhiliya Himasari Sinulingga said in providing waste disposal facilities, including landfills, the Samosir administration should abide by the region's master spatial plan.
She added that if the area was to be used as a landfill, then the administration must obtain a forest-use permit and pay compensation fees. Regencies that were not included in the metropolis category had to establish a waste management technical plan, she said, adding that the administration must also do an environmental impact analysis for its disposal site.
"If the Samosir administration ignores these important aspects, especially if the piled-up waste has altered the land surface, then the administration has indeed violated existing regulations," Fhiliya said.
Walhi was currently reviewing and identifying the Samosir administration's procedures for using the forest as a landfill and if violations were proven the group would report the case to the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
Anggiat Simatupang of the North Sumatra Forestry Agency confirmed that the Samosir regency did not acquire a permit to dispose of waste in the protected forest. He said the agency had repeatedly sent letters to the administration, asking it to stop disposing of waste in the protected area.
Samosir Regent Rapidin Simbolon, however, claimed that the waste had been dumped in the protected forest before he took office in 2013.
He explained that the waste in the protected forest was buried under dirt, arguing that by adopting such a system, the administration would not cut down trees and negatively affect the environment.
His administration had also made proposal to the central government since 2016 to build a final disposal site at Hariara Pintu village in Harian district.
"Hopefully, by 2020, the development can begin," Rapidin told the Post on Friday. (ars)
