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Sumatra rayon mill to move to China, pulp mill to reopen

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002


The Indorayon pulp mill - one of Indonesia's most notorious polluters - was shut down in 1998 following years of protests from the local communities suffering the impacts. The company was renamed PT Toba Pulp Lestari and recently won government approval for reopening its pulp mill in Porsea, North Sumatra.

In Brief... DTE 53-54 - August 2002

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002

Kotopanjang dam victims to get compensation?

Over four thousand families forced to resettle on barren land due to a Japan-funded dam have become "developmental refugees" according to a Japanese newspaper report. The Kotopanjang dam in Riau, Sumatra was built on protected forest and the adat (customary) land of local communities in 1997 at a cost of 36.4 billion Yen, almost all of which was a Japanese government loan.

No mining in the forests!

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002

Indonesian civil society organisations are battling to stop more mining in the country's protected forests.

Indonesia's forestry minister Mohammad Prakosa is coming under increasing pressure from a powerful international mining lobby to end his opposition to mining in 'protected' forests in Indonesia. The lobby includes some of the biggest global mining corporations - Britain's Rio Tinto, Canada's Inco and the United States' Newmont.

International mining workshop, Bali

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002

Seventy-four representatives of communities affected by mining, NGOs and activists from 15 countries gathered in Bali in May to highlight the industry's abysmal record on human rights and the environment.

BP and the Tangguh test

Down to Earth No 52 February 2002


Since DTE last reported on this project in August 2001 (DTE 50), the international profile of BP's Tangguh gas development in West Papua has established it as a "test case" for putting good corporate intentions into practice. However, questions remain over how sincere BP is in carrying out its commitments. And how far external factors - like the Indonesian military - will limit the company's capacity to do so.

Brimob shooting at Aurora mine

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002


A man was seriously wounded as violence against the local community continues at Aurora's gold mine in Central Kalimantan.

On January 19th a mobile brigade police officer from the Central Kalimantan police force shot a young man at Aurora's Krikil I mine site in North Barito district. The man, named Gunawan, was searching through waste rock at the minesite in Tanah Siang sub-district, when he and two others were discovered by four mobile brigade (Brimob) personnel.

Exxon Mobil under fire

Down to Earth No 52, February 2002


Recent attacks against oil and gas company Exxon Mobil in the war-scarred territory of Aceh have brought security concerns to the fore again, as Megawati's government struggles to convince investors they should bring their money back to Indonesia.