Venpri discussed in his presentation how PTBA has used a circular economy to restore watersheds and reclaim ex-mined land. One method is to use post-mining area as a nursery center, with the plant seeds produced being used for watershed rehabilitation.
"Currently the nursery center produces 500 thousand seeds per year. PTBA aims to increase plant seed production capacity to 2-3 million per year by utilizing post-mining land. Thus, the capacity growth corresponds with the land reclamation progress," said Venpri.
PTBA has planted 4 million stems of various types of plants in several locations, including Banyuasin Regency, Muara Enim Regency, Lahat Regency, and Kulon Progo Regency, as part of their watershed rehabilitation efforts. PTBA engages the community in pre-activity, transportation services, planting, maintenance and post-watershed rehabilitation activities.
"We prioritize productive plants such as fruit. There are also mangroves and endemic plants. Bukit Asam's watershed rehabilitation distribution has an influence on approximately 222,000 working person days (HOK), with an economic turnover of nearly IDR 22 billion. This value will continue to increase until all obligations of the Forest Area Borrow-to-Use Permit (IPPKH) are fulfilled,“ said Venpri.
PTBA also implements a circular economy with the Tanjung Enim Tourist City program, which is part of another form of reclamation. Several new tourist attractions have been created, including the Coal Museum, which features an underground lorry track, a Mini Zoo, and a Waterpark.
The Tanjung Enim Tourism City will also include a Botanical Garden built on post-mining land covering an area of approximately 17 hectares (ha). This Botanical Garden is projected to become a biodiversity educational tour in the form of a garden collection of plants from various parts of Indonesia.
"Soon we will celebrate Eid, and I believe people who are returning to Palembang and the neighboring areas might want to stop in Tanjung Enim. In 2023, one hundred thousand visitors have been to the museum and we expect to welcome several thousand more visitors. With the opening of the Palembang-Prabumulih toll road, traveling to Tanjung Enim could be a holiday option to welcome the forthcoming Idul Fitri long holiday," he said.
At the same event, Fatma Puspitasari, Coordinator for Controlling Forest Utilization and Conservation at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, stated that the mining industry faces a challenge in being accused of causing land destruction. Mining Business Permits (IUP) make extensive use of Borrow-to-Use Forest Areas, with the requirement to carry out watershed reclamation and rehabilitation.
According to the Strategic Environmental Study for the 2020-2024 National Medium Term Development Plan, the area of national critical land in 2000 was 4.9 million ha. This area is divided into production forest areas, protected forests, conservation forests, and outside forest areas.
"If action is not taken to prevent and repair the critical land, the area would continue to grow. In the baseline scenario, it was projected that the area of critical land would expand to 19 million ha by 2024," said Fatma.
Fatma gives appreciation to the circular economy that PTBA has developed. Understanding the conditions, obligations and regulations for Borrow-to-Use Forest Areas will help in planning and determining appropriate strategies and efforts to restore critical land while also enhancing the community's economy.
"This program is very important to ensure that PPKH Permit holders have fulfilled their obligations to restore critical land for watershed rehabilitation as well as generating economic transactions by directly involving the community," she said.
