Canadian mining company East Asia Minerals is “working closely” with Indonesian government officials to destroy Aceh’s forests
Posted on 19 April 2013
The province of Aceh in Sumatra is currently drawing up its spatial plan. In the current version, an area of 1.2 million hectares of forest would be converted to mining, logging and oil palm plantations. One of the driving forces behind this proposal appears to be a Canadian mining company, East Asia Minerals.
In May 2011, East Asia Minerals announced that it was buying 50% of Carbon Conservation, the Australian company that was developing the Ulu Masen REDD project. At the time, East Asia Minerals was clear about its motivations – getting the go-ahead for its mining projects in Aceh:
“Through the acquisition of a 50% equity interest in CC, the Company will develop a ‘green’ mining project which will use carbon and biodiversity offsets and the latest in environmentally friendly mining practices.”
Around that time, the Ulu Masen project more or less ground to a halt. A REDD project run by a company 50% owned by a mining company was a step to far for Aceh’s then-governor, Irwandi Yusuf, who was nick-named the “Green Governor”.
This week, East Asia Minerals put out a press release announcing that the Ministry of Forestry is “close to accepting a proposal to open 1.2 million hectares of forest in Aceh province for mining, logging, and palm oil production”. This is, incidentally, the same Ministry of Forestry that told the UN Forum on Forests last week that the country was committed to extending the two-year moratorium on conversion of primary forests and peatlands.
UPDATE – 21 April 2013: An on-line petition has been set up, which currently has more than 18,000 signatures, asking Zaini Abdullah, the Govenor of Aceh, to reject the plan to convert 1.2 million hectares of Aceh’s forests and to review the spatial plan. Sign the petition here, or click on the image below: