International

Dayaks take court action against Australian mining company

Down to Earth No 55 November 2002

Australia's Aurora Gold has closed its notorious Kalimantan gold mine, but indigenous Dayaks want compensation for the negative impacts they have suffered.

On July 30th 2002, indigenous Siang, Murung and Bakumpai Dayak communities from Central Kalimantan filed a lawsuit at the South Jakarta state court, against PT Indo Muro Kencana (IMK), the gold mining company owned by Australia's Aurora Gold.

In Brief... DTE 55 - November 2002

Down to Earth No 55 November 2002

Kalimantan border oil palm?

East Kalimantan governor Abdul Fatah said his administration is looking into the possibility of developing oil palm plantations near the province's border with Sabah, Malaysia, to create jobs for a million migrant workers expelled from Malaysia.

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.

Bali PrepCom ends without agreement, NGOs walk out

Down to Earth No 53-54 August 2002

June's preparatory meeting in Bali for the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (PrepCom IV -WSSD) ended in deadlock with a draft Plan of Action still full of disputed text.