Ministry sets up new unit to fight organized environmental crime

By Bambang Atmaja

Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya said that her ministry has set up a new unit called the Directorate General of Law Enforcement, which is in charge of dealing with organized environmental crime.

The minister said that one of the tasks of the unit now is to handle the rampant illegal mining activities, many of which are classified as organized crime involving corporations and government officials.

?Now, we have a new directorate general, the directorate general of law enforcement,? she said at the presidential palace in Bogor, West Java, on Friday, adding that the new directorate is led by Rasid Ridho Sani.

Elsewhere, Nurbaya reiterated that the government would suspend the issuance of new mining permits including for coal and mineral until end of this year due to various problems in the sector including the failure by many miners to complete reclamation of former mining sites.

?I have reported to the president that it is not only coal mining, but also mineral mining. They have caused severe damages on landscape, on the environment,? she said.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak