Export of the nickel and cobalt from this mine is expected to reach 65,000 tons each year. The mine plans to dump their waste into Weda Bay. The mine plans to use sulfuric acid heap leaching to extract the nickel from the ore.

We reject the role of the World Bank (through MIGA) and financial institutions everywhere that provide insurance and funds to dangerous projects such as the PT Weda Bay Nickel mine.

Support the Halmahera people and ecosystem by reading and signing on to the letter below before March 10, 2010. Sign the letter by sending an email with your full name, organization and country to luluk@jatam.org The letter will be sent to the World Bank and associated parties.

Indonesian version found here: http://www.jatam.org/content/view/1208/1/

JATAM, WALHI, KIARA & KAU
======================

March 10, 2010

To MIGA/World Bank:

Reject World Bank funding of the PT Weda Bay Nickel project Halmahera Island is a unique island rich in biological diversity. Today, this island is experiencing unprecedented rates of destruction brought on by the mining industry. All the main bays found on this island have and will become sites of waste disposal for large-scale gold and nickel mining operations.

This destruction will only intensify with the presence of the PT Weda Bay Nickel mine in the centre of Halmahera Island. From March 1-10, 2010, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) of the World Bank will conduct a feasilbility assessment of this mine in order to determine whether it should provide political risk insurance for construction of this mine, which would be the second largest nickel mine in Indonesia. PT Weda Bay Nickel is owned by the France-based company, Eramet (56.5%),

Mitsubishi (33.4%) and PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) (10%). About 21% of the proposed mine area is located in protected areas including nature and wildlife reserves of the Lalobata and Aketajawe National Park. Mine plans include clearcutting 35,155 ha of protected forest for the mine.

This mine is very dangerous, besides adversely impacting land and water and consuming larges amounts of energy, the mine plans to dump their tailings into Weda Bay, thereby threatening the existence of the entire island of Halmahera, North Maluku. Every year, the company will dig 17 millions of rock and treat 5 million tons of ore to produce 60,000 tons of nickel and 4,000 tons of cobalt. PT Weda Bay Nickel plans to use the controversial sulfuric acid heap leaching process, and develop a sulfuric acid plant that will need 1 million tons of sulfur each year.

Considering the facts mentioned above:

1. We reject the involvement of the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarnatee Agency (MIGA) in providing insurance and funds to dirty projects that destroy local environments, like the PT Weda Bay Nickel project. We demand an end to the feasibilty assessment and cancellation of plans to provide political risk insurance to this dangerous project.
2. We reject all involvement of multilateral funding institutions in funding and insuring extractive industries in Indonesia.
3. We call on the Government of Indonesia to cancel all contracts with PT Weda Bay Nickel  as it will destroy the local economy of Halmahera residents.
4. We call on the Government of Indonesia to ensure the rights of Indonesians to live in  a safe and healthy environment (Rights on the Environment as a citizen Constitutional Right – 28H UUD ‘45)
5. We reject this project because it compromises Indonesia’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by the year 2020. This project is fossil fuel intensive and will compromise the forest resources found in the Lalobata and Aketajawe protected area, an area of 35,155 ha.
6. In the name of the law and state constitution, we demand that the country protect the rights of citizens of this country by securing all forms of protest and rejecting the PT Weda Bay Nickel project.

Respectfully yours,

Signatures,
1.       Siti Maemunah, Jaringan Advokasi Tambang (JATAM), Indonesia
2.       Berry Nahdian Furqon, Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI), Indonesia
3.       Rhino Subagyo, Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), Indonesia
4.       Riza Damanik, Koalisi Rakyat Untuk Keadilan Perikanan (KIARA), Indonesia
5.       Dani Setiawan, Koalisi Anti Utang (KAU), Indonesia

Md. Iqbal Kabir

Today (15 February, 2010) a Division Bench of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh comprising of Mr. Justice Syed Mahmood Hossain and Mr. Justice A.T.M. Fazle Kabir, has directed the respondents to take effective measures to prevent forced flow of saline water by the shrimp cultivators in the 217,000 hectres (17% of total forests of the country) of agricultural lands of coastal districts of Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Noakhali and Cox’sbazar.

The direction came from a writ petition (writ petition No. 57 of 2010) filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) and Nijera Kori to stop saline water commercial shrimp cultivation in the agricultural lands and forest lands of the coastal districts of Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Noakhali and Cox’sbazar and also of Chakaria Sunderban and Sonadia islands.

On behalf of BELA and Nijera Kori, Advocates Probir Niogi, Syeda Rizwana Hasan and M. Iqbal Kabir appeared before the Court.

We reiterate the demand that the developed countries led by the United States, EU, Japan, that have been mostly responsible for carbon and greenhouse gases emission should bear a corresponding historical responsibility for climate change in accordance with Article 3.1 of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, and depletion of fish stock in Southeast Asia.

Developed countries should bear the cost of funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures and they should not be passed on as loans to be paid by the developing countries. We do not accept market-oriented “technofix” solutions to climate change problems such as carbon trading and offsets that pass on the burden of addressing climate change to the developing countries. We assert the following basic principles to guide the implementation of adaptation measures to climate change in coastal areas:

1. Respect for traditional and customary rights of fisherfolk and coastal communities to their fishing grounds
Recognition of the rights of fisherfolk and coastal communities to control and manage their fishing grounds
Recognition and taking into account of human-induced activities such as overfishing and ecologically harmful investments in coastal and marine areas that result in resource degradation and worsen the impacts of climate change in fisherfolk and coastal communities, as well as endangering their food security and physical security
Participation of the fisherfolk in building coastal community resilience to climate change and the adoption of local knowledge and capacities in efforts and measures toward this end
Regulation of fisheries trade and enhancement of domestic markets toward food security and building community resilience

Contact Persons, Copenhagen, Denmark

Dinna Umengan (Tambuyog, Philippines) +4552677740

Abdul Halim (KIARA, Indonesia) +4550597824

Knud Andersen (Living Sea, Denmark) +4520487421

The Government of West Bengal announced yesterday that it was acquiring land to build concrete embankments in the Sunderbans. Activist groups have protested the decision, arguing that it would lead to even greater destruction of mangroves. More…

This demonstration was  planed by bad will of PT. Aruna Wijaya Sakti, subsidiary company of PT. Centralproteina Prima Tbk., to revitalize shrimp farmers’ ponds. As consequences, thousands of shrimp farmers losed out and being more suffered. In this problem, the company showing us that they have not doing their obligation to serve shrimps farmers as mentioned in cooperation agreement.

In many chances, global economy crisis is usually used by the company to postpone their obligation to revitalize shrimps farmers’ ponds whereas in cooperation agreement between CP Prima and shrimp farmers, December 2007 ago, was agreed that “the company must revitalize as much as 16 block of shrimp farmers’ ponds in 8 villages that located in PT. Aruna Wijaya Sakti (AWS) as wide as 16.250 hectares”. During transition of revitalizing process, shrimp farmers get receive fee from the company as much as Rp 900.000 a  month.

Ironically, the Indonesian government has not demonstrated their function to monitor the implementation of cooperation agreement. This responsibility is growing up accordance with the decision of Indonesian government that CP Prima is the party who has won to buy Dipasena’s stocks.

Since January 2009, shrimp farmers’ life became more difficult. More 7.221 shrimp farmers who registered in the Windu Shrimp Farmers Union (P3UW) have also experienced difficulties to supply their daily needs. Only 10 percents who has choosing to follow the policy’ company to cultivate shrimp in broken ponds.

Around 10-15 percents has determined to cultivate shrimp by themself,  although the company didn’t agreed.

The others shrimp farmers only waiting the ending of revitalization process. When part of shrimp farmers get harvest, they couldn’t increasing their benefit because of the condition of ponds They only get 2 kuintal per ponds whereas the result is being used to pay their debt to the company.

Through this demonstration, they urges PT. Aruna Wijaya Sakti (AWS) to fulfill their obligation as mentioned in cooperation agreement. They also ask the Indonesian government to take leads the revitalization process for upgrading shrimp farmers lifes.