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Java, Madura & Bali

 

 

PAMA PUJA - the new Indigenous Peoples Organisation on Java

Down to Earth No 59  November 2003


By Idham Kurniawan* In March this year, a new regional organisation for Indigenous Peoples on Java was established - Paguyuban Masyarakat Adat Pulau Java, or PAMA PUJA.

When we talk about Indigenous Peoples, many people immediately think of people who live in remote areas on islands outside Java, such as Kalimantan and Papua. They think that on Java, there are no longer peoples who live according to traditional values and who hold on firmly to theiradat (customary) way of life.

All-out campaign to stop mining in protected forests

Down to Earth No 58  August 2003


Indonesia is being pushed by powerful mining multinationals to open up protected forests for mining, but the international campaign to prevent yet more forest destruction is gaining momentum.

A final decision on whether or not companies can mine in Indonesia's protected forests - putting at risk some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world - is expected to be issued by Indonesia's parliament soon.

An Indonesian NGO coalition, led by mining advocacy network, JATAM, is campaigning to ma

In brief... DTE 57 - May 2003

Down to Earth No. 57, May 2003

 

Earth Day protests against TPL Sumatra pulp plant

April the 22nd - Earth Day - saw more protests against the Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) plant (formerly Indorayon) which was reopened earlier this year. Environmental organisation WALHI, plus a host of national and local NGOs and community groups, dedicated the events to the people and environmental campaigners of Porsea, who have long suffered from the mill's pollution.

Fatal disasters linked to deforestation

Down to Earth No 56  February 2003


Floods which have swept through Indragiri Hulu and Pelalawan have been blamed on deforestation in water catchments of the two districts in Riau. "So far, the rainfall is normal", the head of the local meteorology office told reporters. "Yet the rainfall, together with the…plundering of the forests in the province, has worsened the flood which was basically caused by the overflowing of the Kotopanjang reservoir in Kampar", he said.

In Brief... DTE 56 - February 2003

Down to Earth No 56  February 2003


NGO to sue Singapore over sand imports

The Institute of Indonesian Forestry Studies, an organisation based in Riau province, is planning to charge Singapore with destroying the marine environment and mangrove forests as well as causing the disappearance of an island in Karimun subdistrict. The Institute's director, Andreas Herykahurifan, said the Riau administration must also bear responsibility because it had issued licences to sand-dredging companies.

Wonosobo community forestry to be cancelled

Down to Earth No. 55, November 2002


Indonesian civil society groups and international observers are dismayed that forestry minister Prakosa has formally asked the Home Affairs ministry to cancel a pioneering local regulation on community forestry in Wonosobo (Perda 22/2001).

The Wonosobo regulation paved the way for a new approach to forest management in Central Java.

Forest fires

Down to Earth No. 55, November 2002


Smoke from forest fires and land clearance has choked Central Kalimantan for three months, causing serious health, transport and economic problems. West Kalimantan and Riau have also been badly affected.

The problems have been worst in Central Kalimantan, which has been hit even harder than in 1997. Palangkaraya has suffered from thick smog continuously since mid-August. By October there were 400 to 500 hot spots (clusters of fires) around the provincial capital.