Indonesia Signals Possible Seizure of Illegal Mining Areas

Indonesia Signals Possible Seizure of Illegal Mining Areas
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Indonesia may move to seize mining operations across nearly 190,000 hectares of forest cleared without permits, as part of a broad crackdown on illegal resource extraction, the deputy forestry minister told parliament, Reuters reported. Authorities say the measures target unlawful mining and plantation activities across the archipelago.

Deputy Forestry Minister Rohmat Marzuki said about 191,790 hectares of mining land lack forestry-use permits and could be deemed illegal. He said a military-backed forestry task force has already taken control of more than 8,700 hectares and continues efforts to reclaim forest areas from illegal mines and palm oil plantations.

The task force recently seized land used to mine nickel, coal, quartz sand and limestone, and has also taken over palm plantations spanning about 4.1 million hectares. Indonesia’s attorney general has assessed potential fines exceeding $6 billion for palm oil firms and nearly $2 billion for mining companies operating in forest zones.