Kabut Asap Kembali Ancam Negara Tetangga

Pekanbaru (ANTARA) - Negara tetangga Malaysia dan Singapura kembali terancam kabut asap sisa kebakaran hutan dan lahan yang melanda sejumlah wilayah di Riau dan provinsi lainnya di Pulau Sumatera.

"Kabut asap di Riau dan provinsi lainnya di Pulau Sumatera kembali berpotensi besar mengirim asap ke negara tetangga Malaysia dan Singapura," kata staf Analisa Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika (BMKG) Kota Pekanbaru, Rahmat Tauladani kepada ANTARA di Pekanbaru, Kamis.

Rahmat menjelaskan, kabut asap sisa kebakaran hutan dan lahan tengah menyelimuti sejumlah provinsi di Pulau Sumatera diantaranya Riau, Jambi dan Sumatera Selatan.

Karenanya, tiupan angin dapat dengan mudah mengirim kabut asap itu ke wilayah lainnya baik provinsi lain maupun ke negara tetangga.

BMKG juga menganalisa bahwa arah tiupan angin pada saat ini berhembus dari Selatan menuju Timur Laut atau mengarah ke negara Malaysia dan Singapura dengan kecepatan lima hingga sepuluh knot.

"Dekatnya jarak antara Provinsi Riau dan kedua negara tetangga tersebut menambah besar potensi kiriman asap," katanya.

Sementara itu, kabut asap sisa kebakaran hutan dan lahan terus menyelimuti Kota Pekanbaru dan sejumlah wilayah lainnya di Provinsi Riau sejak Kamis pagi.

Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika (BMKG) Kota Pekanbaru menyatakan bahwa kabut asap itu merupakan sisa kebakaran hutan dan lahan yang melanda sejumlah kabupaten/kota di Provinsi Riau.

Berdasarkan pantauan terakhir satelit NOAA 18 diketahui bahwa ada 74 titik api atau hotspot sebagai indikator terjadinya kebakaran hutan atau lahan yang terdeteksi di Riau.

Titik api tersebut tersebar di sejumlah kabupaten/kota yakni Bengkalis lima titik, Siak tiga titik, Pelalawan 33 titik, Indragiri Hulu 22 titik, Indragiri Hilir delapan titik dan Kuantan Singingi tiga titik api.

BMKG memprediksi banyaknya jumlah hotspot di Riau disebabkan oleh tingginya indeks potensi penyulutan api dan tingkat kekeringan di Provinsi Riau.

Karena itu, BMKG kembali mengimbau kepada masyarakat maupun perusahaan untuk tidak melakukan pembukaan hutan dan lahan dengan cara bakar agar tidak menimbulkan kebakaran besar dan menimbulkan kabut asap yang berbahaya bagi kesehatan dan lingkungan (antara.co.id)
Selengkapnya...

Pencemaran Minyak di Indramayu Belum Teratasi

INDRAMAYU, SENIN- Hingga saat ini, sekitar 30 persen area pesisir Indramayu belum bersih dari limbah minyak mentah yang tertumpah dari kapal tangker Arendal milik PT Pertamina saat memasok minyak mentah ke Kilang Balongan Unit Pengolahan VI, pertengahan September lalu.


Humas Pertamina Unit Pengolahan VI Balongan, Darijanto, Senin (3/11), menyatakan, pihaknya terus melakukan pembersihan tahap II meskipun itu tidak mudah.

Adapun ganti rugi karena pencemaran yang dialami petani tambak dan nelayan, akan diganti oleh Pertamina. Data berapa jumlah petambak dan luas tambak yang tercemar, masih didata tim ahli independen.

Di tempat terpisah, Kepala Subbidang Lingkungan Hidup Dinas Pertambangan dan Lingkungan Hidup Kabupaten Indramayu Aep Surahman menyatakan, pembersihan tahap kedua tidak mudah dan membutuhkan waktu yang lebih lama. Sebab, pembersihan harus dilakukan secara manual, terutama pada tanaman mangrove.

Caranya, dengan dikerik dan disekop. Adapun teknik lainnya, dengan menguapkan limbah yang menempel di batu dan mencairkan minyak yang membeku karena dingin.

Secara keseluruhan, limbah dari tumpahan kapal tangker Arendal itu telah mencemari 13 desa di empat kecamatan Indramayu. Totalnya, ekosistem pesisir serta area tambak milik warga di sepanjang 48 kilometer pantai Indramayu, tercemar. Hingga kini, pendataan kerugian materi serta lingkungan masih dilakukan, padahal pencemaran sudah terjadi 1,5 bulan lalu.

Data sementara, pencemaran itu menyebabkan dua juta batang mangrove di empat kecamatan tercemar dan rusak. Dua kecamatan mengalami kerusakan paling parah, yakni Pasekan dan Indramayu.

Menurut Aep, kesulitan untuk membersihkan limbah minyak terutama karena limbah menempel pada batang dan daun mangrove, serta tertimbun di dalam tanah dan sekitar akar mangrove menyebabkan banyak tanaman mangrove rusak.

Potensi mangrove yang tercemar di empat kecamatan, yakni di Kecamatan Pasekan, Cantigi, Balongan, dan Indramayu, diperkirakan sebanyak 2.875.000 batang, yang tertanam di 1.360 hektar (ha). Potensi kerusakan terbesar di Kecamatan Pasekan, karena memiliki 860.000 batang mangrove.

Di kecamatan lainnya, Kecamatan Cantigi, ada 750.000 batang mangrove yang tertanam di 275 ha, dan di Kecamatan Balongan ada 150.000 batang mangrove. Adapun di Kecamatan Indramayu terdapat sekitar 1 juta ba tang pohon, yang terbanyak di Desa Pabean Udik, mencapai 915.00 batang pohon tertanam di 303 ha.

Menurut Dedi Rahmat, Kepala Seksi Pemantauan Pencemaran Dinas Pertambangan dan Lingkungan Hidup Indramayu, limbah berpotensi mencemari 12.866 hektar tambak udang dan bandeng. Lahan tambak yang terluas yang berpotensi terpapar limbah adalah di Kecamatan Cantigi, mencapai 7.000 ha yang dimilki 1.876 petambak.
Sumber : Kompas
Selengkapnya...

Indonesia

Indonesia houses the most extensive rainforest cover in all of Asia, though it is rapidly developing these lands to accommodate its increasing population and growing economy.

Indonesia's 17,000 islands form an archipelago that spans two biogeographic realms—the Indomalayan and Australasian—and seven biogeographic regions, and support tremendous diversity and endemism of species. Of the country's 3,305 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, 31.1 percent are endemic and 9.9 percent are threatened. Indonesia is home to at least 29,375 species of vascular plants, of which 59.6 percent are endemic.

Logging

Today just under half of Indonesia is forested, representing a significant decline in its original forest cover. Between 1990 and 2005 the country lost more than 28 million hectares of forest, including 21.7 hectares of virgin forest. Its loss of biologically rich primary forest was second only to Brazil during that period, and since the close of the 1990s, deforestation rates of primary forest cover have climbed 26 percent. Today Indonesia's forests are some of the most threatened on the planet.

Indonesia's forests are being degraded and destroyed by logging, mining operations, large-scale agricultural plantations, colonization, and subsistence activities like shifting agriculture and cutting for fuelwood. Rainforest cover has steadily declined since the 1960s when 82 percent of the country was covered with forest, to 68 percent in 1982, to 53 percent in 1995, and 49 percent today. Much of this remaining cover consists of logged-over and degraded forest.

The effects from forest loss have been widespread, including irregular river flows, soil erosion, and reduced yield from of forest products. Pollution from chlorine bleach used in pulp bleaching and run-off from mines has damaged river systems and adjacent cropland, while wildlife poaching has reduced populations of several conspicuous species including the orangutan (endangered), Bali and Javan tigers (extinct), and Javan and Sumatran rhinos (on the brink of extinction). On the island of New Guinea (Irian Jaya) the world's only tropical glacier is receding due to climate change, but also due to the local effects of mining and deforestation.


Logging for tropical timbers and pulpwood is the best-known cause of forest loss and degradation in the country. Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of tropical timber, generating upwards of US$5 billion annually, and more than 48 million hectares (55 percent of the country's remaining forests) are concessioned for logging. Logging in Indonesia has opened some of the most remote, forbidding places on earth to development. After decimating much of the forests in less remote locations, timber firms have stepped up practices on the island of Borneo and the state of Irian Jaya on New Guinea, where great swaths of forests have been cleared in recent years and logging firms have to move deeper and deeper into the interior to find suitable trees. For example, in the mid-1990s, only 7 percent of Indonesia's logging concessions were located in Irian Jaya, but today more than 20 percent exist in the territory.

Legal timber harvesting affects 700,000-850,000 hectares of forest per year in Indonesia, but widespread illegal logging boosts the overall logged area to at least 1.2-1.4 million hectares and possibly much higher—in 2004, Environment Minister Nabiel Makarim said that 75 percent of logging in Indonesia is illegal. Despite an official ban on the export of raw logs from Indonesia, timber is regularly smuggled to Malaysia, Singapore, and other Asian countries. By some estimates, Indonesia is losing around $1 billion a year in tax revenue from the illicit trade. Illegal cutting is also hurting legitimate timber-harvesting businesses by reducing the supply of logs available for processing, and undercutting international prices for wood and wood products.

Agriculture

Over the past few years, extensive areas of forest have been converted for oil-palm plantations. Indonesia's oil-palm plantations grew from 600,000 hectares in 1985 to more than 4 million hectares by early 2006 when the government announced a plan to develop 3 million additional hectares of oil-palm plantations by 2011. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is an attractive plantation crop because it is the cheapest vegetable oil and produces more oil per hectare than any other oilseed. In the current environment of high energy prices, palm oil is seen as a good way to meet increasing demand for biofuel as an alternative energy source.

While clear-cutting virgin rainforest is illegal in Indonesia and oil-palm plantations can be planted on degraded forest lands, forest clearing is permissible as long as the process is declared to be the first step in establishing a plantation. Thus oil-palm plantations often replace natural forests. Of particular concern to forest watchers is a 2-million-hectare project planned for central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The plan—funded by China and supported by the Indonesian government—has been widely criticized by environmental groups who say that the conversion of natural forest for monocultures of palm trees threatens biodiversity and ecological services. The World Wildlife Fund, which has been particularly vocal in condemning the scheme and has a number of scientists on the ground assessing the potentially affected region, has issued several reports on the region's biological diversity (361 new species were discovered between 1994 and 2004 in Borneo).

The fastest and cheapest way to clear new land for plantations is by burning. Every year hundreds of thousands of acres hectares go up in smoke as developers and agriculturalists feverishly light fires before monsoon rains begin to fall. In dry years—especially during strong el Niño years—these fires can burn out of control for months on end, creating deadly pollution that affects neighboring countries and causes political tempers to flare.

In 1982-1983 more than 9.1 million acres (3.7 million ha) burned on the island of Borneo before monsoon rains arrived, while more than 2 million hectares of forest and scrub land burned during the 1997-1998 el Niño event, causing $9.3 billion in losses. The fires also produced wide-ranging and severe economic, political, social, health, and ecological damage to Indonesia and the neighboring Southeast Asian nations of Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, and Thailand, already in the midst of an economic crisis. Satellite analysis of the 1997-1998 fires revealed that 80 percent of the fires could be linked to plantations or logging concession holders.

The haze from the 2005-2006 fires resulted in heated exchanges between Indonesian and Malaysian government officials. Malaysia and Singapore have offered assistance in fighting Indonesian blazes, while simultaneously placing blame on the country for its lack of progress in controlling the wild fires. Indonesia in turn blamed Malaysian firms for rampant illegal logging in the country, which left its forests more susceptible to conflagrations.

Despite some protective measures, including an Indonesian proposal to implement the death penalty for illegal loggers and fire starters, such fires are only expected to worsen in the future as the region's forests face increasingly dry conditions due to climate change and degradation.

Fires in Indonesia's peat swamps are particularly damaging due to the high carbon content of the ecosystem—Dr Susan Page, of the University of Leicester, estimates that Southeast Asian peat lands may contain up to 21 percent of the world’s land-based carbon. The 1997 fires released 2.67 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Population problems

Fires in Indonesia were worsened by the government's misguided transmigration program which moved poor families from the crowded central islands to the less populated outer islands. In the program's two-plus decades, more than six million migrants—730,000 families—were relocated to Kalimantan, Irian Jaya, Sulawesi, and Sumatra. Ignorant of cultivation methods in these areas, many transmigrants fared poorly. In 1995, former President Suharto initiated the "One Million Hectare Project," an ambitious project to move 300,000 families from Java to central Kalimantan and increase rice production by 2.7 million tons per year. For two years, workers cleared the forests and dug almost 3,000 miles of canals with the intended purpose of keeping the soil drained in the rainy season and crops irrigated in the dry season. But because the peat lands were higher than the rivers, the plan backfired as the canals carried all the moisture out of the peat lands. The failures of the project were compounded by an eight-month drought from an especially intense El Niño year. In 1997, the dried-out peat lands ignited. Fires in other parts of Indonesia have been linked to colonist settlements established during the transmigration program.

Mining


Mining operations have a devastating effect on the forest and tribal peoples of Indonesia. The largest and best known of such projects is the Freeport mine in Irian Jaya, run by Freeport-McMoRan. Freeport-McMoRan, based in New Orleans, has operated the Mount Ertsberg gold, silver, and copper mine in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, for more than 20 years and has converted the mountain into a 600-meter hole. As documented by the New York Times and dozens of environmental groups, the mining company has dumped appalling amounts of waste into local streams, rendering downstream waterways and wetlands "unsuitable for aquatic life." Relying on large payments to military officials, the mining operation is protected by a virtual private army that has been implicated in the deaths of an estimated 160 people between 1975 and 1997 in the mine area.

Freeport estimates that it generates 700,000 tons of waste a day and that the waste rock stored in the highlands—900 feet deep in places—now covers about three square miles. Government surveys have found that tailings from the mines have produced levels of copper and sediment so high that almost all fish have disappeared from nearly 90 square miles of wetlands downstream from the operation.

Cracking down on the Freeport's environmental abuses and questionable human-rights practices has proved a challenge since the mine is one of the largest sources of revenue for the Indonesian government. An Indonesian government scientist wrote that "the mine's production was so huge, and regulatory tools so weak, that it was like 'painting on clouds' to persuade Freeport to comply with the ministry's requests to reduce environmental damage," according to a Dec. 27, 2005, article in the New York Times.

Cronyism and Corruption

Forest management in Indonesia has long been plagued by corruption. Underpaid government officials combined with the prevalence of disreputable businessmen and shifty politicians, mean logging bans go unenforced, trafficking in endangered species is overlooked, environmental regulations are ignored, parks are used as timber farms, and fines and prison sentences never come to pass. Corruption was cemented in place under the rule of ex-president General Haji Mohammad Soeharto (Suharto), who gained control in 1967 after participating in a 1965 seizure of power by the military. Under his rule, cronyism was rife, and many of his close relatives and associates built up tremendous wealth through subsidies and unfair business practices.

This tradition of crony capitalism played an important role in the government's poor response to forest fires during the 1997-1998 crisis. According to the IMF's managing director, Indonesia was unable to use its special off-budget reforestation fund to help combat the fires because the money had been ear-marked for a failing car project owned by Suharto's son. Though the fund contained billions drawn from timber taxes, it has long been used as a convenient way to distribute wealth back to Indonesia's circle of economic elite, the bedfellows of the former strongman. The IMF said that the fund has mostly been used to provide low-interest loans to commercial timber and plantation companies for land clearing and replanting virgin rainforest with fast-growing pine, eucalyptus, and acacia trees for pulp production.

The future

Indonesia's forests face a discouragingly grim future. While the country has nearly 400 protected areas, the sanctity of these reserves is virtually nonexistent. With its wildlife, forests, coral reefs, cultural attractions, and warm seas, Indonesia has tremendous potential for eco-tourism, but to date most tourism is focused on cheap beach holidays. Sex tourism is a problem in parts of the country, and tourism itself has caused social issues and environmental problems from forest clearing, mangrove development, pollution, and resort construction.

Sumber : http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20indonesia.htm
Selengkapnya...

Jutaan Meter Kubik Limbah Industri Cemari Lingkungan Tiap Hari

Semarang (ANTARA News) - Sekitar 3.029.991 meter kubik air limbah industri setiap hari mencemari lingkungan di Jawa Tengah, dengan perkiraan industri besar membuang air limbah 650 meter kubik/hari, industri menengah 150 meter kubik/hari, dan industri kecil 3 meter kubik/hari.

"Total air limbah yang dibuang dalam kurun waktu satu tahun di Jateng sekitar 1,09 miliar meter kubik," kata staf Pengendali Pencemaran Air Badan Lingkungan Hidup (BLH) Provinsi Jateng, Reno B. Sasotyo di Semarang, Selasa.

Ia mengatakan hal itu pada seminar dan lokakarya "Teknologi Tepat Guna Pengolahan Limbah Cair Domestik Komunal dan Industri" di Universitas Katholik (Unika) Soegijapranata Semarang.

Menurut dia jenis industri besar yang menghasilkan air limbah dan berpotensi mencemari lingkungan didominasi industri tekstil/batik, tapioka, alkohol, MSG (bumbu masak), farmasi, makanan, kecap, gula, kertas, dan penyamakan kulit.

Pencemaran lingkungan juga datang dari limbah domestik (rumah tangga, hotel, dan rumah sakit). Pencemaran dari rumah tangga yang dibuang ke lingkungan perairan tidak hanya air limbah cair tetapi juga limbah padat (sampah)," katanya.

Ia mengatakan, air limbah sektor hotel dan rumah sakit diperkirakan mencapai 1,9 juta meter kubik per hari.

Ia menyebutkan, di Jateng tercatat ada 645.120 industri yang terdiri dari 1.062 industri besar, 2.773 industri menengah, dan 641.673 industri kecil.

Menurut dia, industri yang air limbahnya berpotensi mencemari lingkungan dari industri menengah besar 471 unit, yang memiliki instalasi pengolahan air limbah (IPAL) 296 unit dan belum memiliki IPAL 175 unit.(*)

Sumber : Antara Selengkapnya...

BAHAN BAKAR NABATI MASIH MENCEMARI UDARA ?

BICARA tentang bahan bakar dan pencemaran. Hidrokarbon yang menjadi ”sumber” bahan bakar minyak yang pada prosesnya menghasilkan Karbondioksida (CO₂) adalah gas yang mencemari udara. Lalu bagaimana dengan bahan bakar minyak nabati yang juga adalah Hidrokarbon, mengapa orang-orang bilang bahan bakar nabati ini ramah lingkungan? Bukankah Hidrokarbonnya juga akan menghasilkan CO₂?

CO₂ yang berasal dari minyak nabati dan CO₂ yang berasal dari minyak bumi (fosil), sama-sama berpotensi sebagai ”pencemar”. Bedanya adalah bahwa CO₂ yang berasal dari minyak bumi ”menambah” CO₂ yang sebelumnya ”terkubur” di dalam materi hidrokarbon di dalam perut bumi, sementara bahan bakar dari tumbuh-tumbuhan merupakan bagian dari siklus karbon yang setimbang di atas permukaan bumi.

Walaupun pada dasarnya CO₂ tidaklah ”berbahaya” bagi kehidupan manusia, namun jika kadarnya melebihi ambang batas yang ideal (0,03%), dapat menyebabkan apa yang disebut dengan efek rumah kaca.

Jadi mencemari udara juga masih harus di definisikan lebih jelas lagi, unsur dan senyawa apa yang ”mencemari”. Sepeti halnya bahan bakar dari tumbuh-tumbuhan (biofuel) tidak mengandung dan melepaskan pencemar lain seperti belerang (sulfur,SO₂).

Biofuel juga bersifat renewable, artinya dapat diperbaharui, sumber utama dari tumbuhan dapat di tanam dan di olah kembali hasilnya, tidak seperti bahan tambang minyak dan batubara, yang tidak bisa di ”buat” kembali.

Jadi jika dalam suatu kesempatan di sekolah kamu, ada demonstrasi mesin mobil yang berbahan bakar dari tumbuhan (biodiesel, bioetanol,atau bio-bio lain) jangan coba-coba menghirup asap yang keluar dari cerobong asap (knalpot)-nya, karena buangannya tetap saja CO₂, walau memang bebas belerang.***

sumber : bocah.org

Selengkapnya...

Bunaken Penuh Sampah

Manado (ANTARA News) - World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) atau Organisasi Konservasi Global wilayah Indonesia, mengaku prihatin kondisi Taman Nasional Laut (TNL) Bunaken di Sulawesi Utara (Sulut), yang penuh sampah, padahal wilayah konservasi laut tersebut merupakan terbaik di dunia.

Direktur Marine WWF Indonesia, Wawan, Sabtu di Manado, mengatakan, penyelamatan TNL Bunaken perlu kesadaran tinggi masyarakat, karena akan menjadi ancaman lingkungan dimasa mendatang jika tidak diantisipasi sejak sekarang.

TNL Bunaken merupakan wilayah konservasi yang dilindungi negara, karena memiliki jutaan biota dan ekosistem terbaik di dunia, sehingga perlu ditangani secara komprehensif.

TNL Bunaken tidak sekedar menjadi objek wisata yang mendatangkan devisa, tetapi wilayah dilindungi itu perlu dijaga untuk penyelamatan lingkungan laut, katanya, usai beraudiens dengan Gubernur Sulut, SH Sarundajang.

Banyaknya sampah didaerah itu karena pemerintah daerah tidak menciptakan pemetaan laut dari "serangan" sampah organik dan non organik, sehingga beberapa muara sungai yang masuk ke TNL Bunaken menjadi rusak.

Gubernur Sulut mengaku TNL Bunaken bergelut dengan persoalan cukup lama, yakni sampah akibat keserakahan manusia.

Pemprop Sulut akan berbicara dengan DPRD setempat, membahas anggaran khusus untuk penanganan sampah di Bunaken, dengan menghadirkan berbagai teknologi yang menghadang giringan sampah ke taman laut itu.

Asisten II bidang Perekonomian dan Pembangunan Pemprop Sulut, Marietha Kuntag mengatakan, TNL Bunaken, perlu dibenahi kembali, baik infrastruktur penunjang objek wisata, masalah sampah serta sistem promosi digiatkan terus.

Banyak masalah yang selalu dialami objek wisata TNL Bunaken, sehingga perlu diperhatikan serius semua stakeholder, agar tidak memberi dampak buruk bagi lokasi itu, kata Kuntag.

Kemudian pelaksanaan World Ocean Conference (WOC) atau Konferensi Tingkat Tinggi (KTT) tentang laut, yang akan digelar di Kota Manado pada tahun 2009 mendatang, dengan tujuan akhir akan melihat objek wisata TNL Bunaken yang memiliki sejuta biota laut terbaik di dunia. Selengkapnya...

Kemana kekayaan Papua?

Mengapa Papua, yang populasinya tak sampai 1% penduduk Jawa barat ini, Index Pembangunan manusianya - diantaranya dilihat dari tingginya kematian balita dan ibu hamil, berada pada urutan 29 dari 33 propinsi. Kemana perginya kekayaan Papua?

***

Dua tahun lalu, disebuah pertemuan kelompok masyarakat sipil di hotel Sentani Jayapura Papua, dibentangkan sebuah peta spasial digital. Itu peta Papua Barat yang terlihat hijau. Ini pulau yang masih memiliki hutan terluas di Indonesia. Papua adalah propinsi terluas, meliputi 21,9 persen luas daratan Indonesia, atau sekitar 42,198 juta ha. Data pemantauan satelit dua tahun lalu oleh FWI dan Greenpeace, menunjukkan luas hutan alaminya sekitar 17,9 juta ha

Tapi begitu konsesi ijin-ijin tambang mineral, minyak dan gas, juga ijin penebangan kayu dan perkebunan skala besar disana - di tumpang tindihkan pada peta pertama. Ada 137 konsesi perijinan, dengan luas lebih dari 31,89 juta ha. Hampir seluruh propinsi dipenuhi perijinan.

Mari kita lihat manfaat konsesi-konsesi tersebut dari satu konsesi tambang - PT Freeport dari Amerika Serikat. Ia menguasai deposit emas terbesar dan tembaga ketiga terbesar didunia - Etzberg dan Grasberg. Cadangan emas Grasberg sebanyak 4,6 milyar gram – menurut laporan Freeport tahun 2004.

Tak heran jika Freeport sejahtera. James Moffett, bos besar Freeport Indonesia, satu dari sepuluh pria bergaji tertinggi di dunia. Menurut Forbes, penghasilan Moffett mencapai Rp 432 milyar pada tahun 2006. Sementara penduduk Papua hanya bisa mengantongi Rp 2 juta per tahun, bahkan setelah Freeport 37 tahun beroperasi di sana.

Itu belum menghitung beban besar yang harus ditanggung Papua: jutaan ton limbah beracun (tailing) yang, sekiranya diekspor ke Jawa, bisa menenggelamkan Jakarta, Depok, dan Bekasi sekaligus. Masing-masing dengan kedalaman lima meter – itu data tahun lalu.

Bagaimana manfaat konsesi-konsesi yang lain? Ada 7 konsesi Hutan Tanaman Industri, 21 konsesi perkebunan skala besar, 65 konsesi penebangan kayu hutan, 15 Kontrak Karya Mineral dan Batubara, juga 29 blok migas? Bagaimana manfaat proyek gas terbesar British Petroleum Tangguh di teluk Bintuni?

Mengapa Papua, yang populasinya tak sampai 1% penduduk Jawa barat ini, Index Pembangunan manusianya - diantaranya dilihat dari tingginya kematian balita dan ibu hamil, berada pada urutan 29 dari 33 propinsi. Kemana perginya kekayaan Papua? (JM)

Sumber : Satudunia.oneworld.net

Selengkapnya...