Mitigating the Damage from Coal Mining in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

PT Singlurus Pratama, a coal mining company operating outside the city of Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, participated in and partially hosted two ELTI trainings in 2012. The company’s approach to post-mine rehabilitation has since changed dramatically. Before the training, rehabilitation efforts were carried out with monocultures of fast growing species—a practice found throughout the region. Working in close cooperation with Dr. Ishak Yassir, one of ELTI’s training partners from the Research Institute of Natural Resources Conservation Technology (Balitek -KSDA), company staff have since established a number of experimental demonstration plots to test the direct planting of an array of native species that can grow in harsh open conditions and are attractive to wildlife. Based on initial positive results, PT Singlurus Pratama has applied this more biologically diverse approach to rehabilitation on 83 hectares. 

With Dr. Yassir, company staff members have also been using camera traps to document animals entering the rehabilitation sites and the natural dispersal of other tree species into the area. Reflecting upon recommendations from the trainings, company managers also changed their rehabilitation-related labor practices, shifting away from the use of company staff to a greater reliance on two local community groups which grow the seedlings and conduct the planting and maintenance—a boon for the local economy.

PT Singlurus Pratama’s new approach to mine site rehabilitation has been gaining attention with recent visits from officials from the ministries that regulate mining, members of the local legislative assembly, and representatives from other coal mines in the region. PT Singlurus Pratama is also working with ELTI, Balitek-KSDA, Tropenbos International, and other partners to develop the nearby Bukit Bangkirai Eco-Tourism Area as a permanent training site with the companies’ rehabilitation areas serving as demonstration and practice sites for other companies and government regulators.

For more information contact David Neidel (david.neidel@yale.edu) and Pangestuti Astri (pangestuti.astri@yale.edu).