TEMPO.CO, Padang - The Mentawai Island administration has rejected a permit application filed by PT Biomass Andalan Energi to develop a 20,110-hectare industrial forest (HTI) in Siberut Island, West Sumatra.

Mentawai deputy regent Kortanius Sabeleake said that the industrial forest had caused suffering for the people since 1970s. The residents of the island have to face flooding continuously. “Such a policy is not beneficiary for the customary community,” Kortanius said today, September 14.

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According to Kortanius, the land previously belonged to the tribes in Siberut Island. “However, the land was turned into a production forest,” he revealed.

In relation to the issue, Mentawai Regent had sent a letter to the Environment and Forestry Ministry to revoke the industrial forest permit. Earlier, the permit was granted for PT Biomass Andalan Energi but later was withdrawn since the company failed to complete the environmental impact analysis document on time.

Mentawai Cintra Mandiri Foundation director Rifai Lubis alleged the company targeted plants in the area. “The company is not developing a land into a forest but cutting trees that exist in the forest,” Rifai said. He added that Siberut is a fragile island without rocks that a small-scale environmental damage could disrupt the hydrological cycle in the island.

FEBRIANTI