Minister of Forestry
Dr. Ir. M. Prakosa
Jl. Gatot Subroto
South Jakarta, Indonesia

RE: Please don't allow mining in Indonesia's forest protected areas

Dear Minister Prakosa,

I join millions of concerned citizens worldwide in my strong support for a coalition of Indonesian organizations that opposes opening Indonesia’s protected forest areas to mining.

Deforestation in Indonesia is occurring at an alarming rate--2.4 million hectares (1.2%) per year or approximately 10 acres of rainforest a minute. Allocated protected forest areas, national parks and other protected areas are now being threatened by mining activities. Your government has issued several laws that aim to protect forests and water catchments, including Forestry Act No. 41/1999, which prohibits open-pit mining in protected forest areas. However, the mining industry and foreign governments are demanding your government to override this environment protection law and grant mining permits.

Forest conservation, biodiversity preservation and prevention of devastating floods in your country rely heavily on the protected forest and conservation area system. The size of the protected areas in Indonesia is a relatively small 55.2 million hectares with 31.9 million hectares designated as protected forests and the remaining area as conservation areas. They are sites of rich biodiversity with profuse endemic flora and fauna species, as well as the homelands of indigenous communities. All of these areas have already been damaged in some way, from illegal logging, forest fires, palm oil tree plantations, and other industrial uses including mining.

Mining in your nation has already left massive environmental and social impacts. Mining multinationals like Newmont, Aurora Gold and Rio Tinto are currently shutting down some of their Indonesian mines, leaving behind open pits, lands unable to be reclaimed, acid mine drainage, and other environmental and social nightmares.

I applaud the commitment you have made to the global conservation of protected areas and natural biodiversities by your ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity, your agreement to the "Statement of Forest Principles" and your participation in the United Nations Forest Forum. But I am very disappointed in the granting of mining permits to 15 mining companies. Some of these have spent money on exploration, now claiming they therefore have a right to dig open-cut pits in protected areas. However, all Indonesian mining contracts state that the company must obey Indonesian statutes and regulations including environmental protection laws..

For the sake of Indonesia’s people and the future of your nation, it is vital that you stand by your commitments to forest protection and diversity. I urge you to fully maintain Act No. 41/1999, forbidding all mining in protected areas, to protect globally significant biological diversity, and to prevent toxic contamination of water and agricultural lands caused by open-pit mining.