Indonesia targets illegal mining on 190,000 hectares of forest land

The Indonesian government could potentially seize mining activities across 190,000 hectares (733.59 square miles) of illegally cleared forest, the deputy forestry minister told a parliamentary hearing on Monday, as authorities tackle what they say is unlawful extraction in the resource-rich archipelago.

Indonesia’s unprecedented crackdown, which has seen military-led teams take over palm plantations and mines, has unnerved the industry, pushing up global palm oil prices over concerns it will hit output, and more recently, powering rallies in the prices of metals like tin.

“There were 191,790 hectares (mines) that do not have forestry use permits, which could be considered illegal,” Deputy Forestry Minister Rohmat Marzuki said. He did not name any of the companies involved or say how many were involved. Neither did he elaborate on what was being mined or provide any timeline for the seizures.

“The forestry task force has already obtained 8,769 hectares and this is still ongoing to reach 191,790 hectares,” he added.

“Along with the forestry task force, the forestry ministry remains committed in obtaining back the forest areas from illegal oil palm plantations and illegal mines,” Marzuki said.

The military-backed forestry task force said last week it had taken over 8,800 hectares of land where nickel, coal, quartz sand and limestone were being mined. It has also seized palm plantations across 4.1 million hectares (10.1 million acres), an area roughly the size of the Netherlands.

Indonesia’s Attorney General has assessed potential fines of 109.6 trillion rupiah ($6.47 billion) for palm oil companies and 32.63 trillion rupiah for mining companies, for operations in forest areas.

($1 = 16,935.0000 rupiah)

(By Bernadette Christina and Dewi Kurniawati; Editing by Gibran Peshimam and Kate Mayberry)