Indira Rezkisari, Jakarta – Climate activist and founder of Indonesian Climate Justice Literacy, Firdaus Cahyadi, has criticised the government's plan to give mining concessions to tertiary education institutions. Cahyadi said this shows that the political elite never stop displaying their error in thinking about the substance of natural resource management.

"The idea of giving a mining concession to tertiary institutions is one example of the political elite's error in thinking in looking at the issue of natural resources", Cahyadi said in a statement on Thursday January 23.

Revisions to the Mineral and Coal Mining Law (UU Minerba) being discussed by the House of Representative (DPR) have given rise to the idea of giving mining concessions to tertiary education institutions. According to Cahyadi the argument for giving out mining concessions to tertiary institutions in order to help campus funding does not make any sense.

"There are still many ways to help funding universities other than mining concessions", he said.

Giving out mining concessions to tertiary institutions, continued Cahyadi, further confirms that Indonesia's development in the future was based on an extractive development model that damages nature. He added that damage to the environment will certainly attract resistance from the public.

"The granting of a mining concessions to religious mass organisations (ormas) and higher education institutions is one of the ways to counter resistance by people who begin to have an awareness about the environment", he said.

Giving mining concessions to religious mass organisations, continued Cahyadi, will reduce resistance by communities against mines that damage the environment through the unilateral interpretation of religious texts.

"Meanwhile, tertiary institutions that receive mining concessions will produce arguments that seem scientific to justify or normalise the social and environment damage due to mining", he said.

Cahyadi said that the political elite giving mining concessions to religious mass organisations and tertiary institutions is like hiring the two institutions to become symbols of morality and knowledge in order to fool the public about the damage done by mining.

He further revealed that using the grounds of nationalism at a time when mines are mostly controlled by foreigners is an argument that make no sense.

"No matter who controls the mines, both foreign and national, this cannot eliminate the ecological and social damage of mining. The public must speak out loudly to reject mining concessions for tertiary institutions, do not be fooled by arguments that appear to be nationalist", he said.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Aktivis Tolak Konsesi Tambang untuk Perguruan Tinggi".]

Source: https://esgnow.republika.co.id/berita/sqjge7328/aktivis-tolak-konsesi-tambang-untuk-perguruan-tinggi