I sat through a talk by Heiko Bleher at an ANGFA conference a few years
back in Canberra where he spoke about the mine's effects on the Ok Tedi
and other (Mamberamo?) rivers - if half of what he said was true, then
the area would be in a sorry state now. Once the fish are gone, they
will not come back. The record of the Indonesian government on a wide
range of economically intangible matters is not very good. Freeport has
to assume at least joint responsibility for what has happened there.
Best regards, Andrew
Neil D. Anderson wrote:
> The New York Times is well known for its anti-business, anti-American
> slant. Before you believe everything you read there, do a little
> investigation of your own. Check out
> http://www.fcx.com/envir/wtsd/2004/reclam2.htm to see what Freeport is
> doing to reclaim tailings areas all in cooperation with the
> Indonesian government, I might add.
>
> No one can restore land that has been mined or forests that have been
> cut to their original pristine state. However as we all know, trees
> grow back, and mined land becomes beautiful and useful again once it
> has been properly restored. It is up to the Indonesian government to
> protect areas that it wants to preserve as pristine and untouched by
> making them into national parklands. In other words, dont blame the
> mining company that employs local people, lifts them out of poverty,
> and attempts to work within an environmentally sound set of
> guidelines. Encourage the Indonesian government to recognize the
> importance of preserving its beautiful lands, natural fauna, and
> diverse wildlife through legislation.
>
-- ----------------------------------------- Andrew Boyd andrew at friendlymanual.com http://www.friendlymanual.com http://www.humaneia.com -----------------------------------------