One hundred participants attended the International Seminar on Current Developments in Mine Reclamation Practices and Mine Water Management held on 11-12 September 2017 in Palembang, Indonesia that BIOTROP jointly implemented with Universitas Sriwijaya.
The seminar was aimed to communicate government policies and results of research activities conducted on mine reclamation and mine water management to the stakeholders of mining industry to improve existing practices. The research results were mostly generated from the project called Establishing a Network of Research Excellence for Mine Reclamation in Southeast Asia which was coordinated by Bangor University (UK) and BIOTROP (Indonesia). This project was a collaborative undertaking among BIOTROP, Bangor University and Aberystwyth University (UK), Western Carolina University (US), Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB/Bogor Agricultural University), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB/Bandung Institute of Technology), Diponegoro University (UNDIP), Brawijaya University (UB) and PT Bukit Asam. The project was funded by the British Council through the Global Innovation Initiative.
The seminar was divided into four themes, namely: 1) government policy on mine environmental management and reclamation, 2) transformation of ex-mine site to productive landscape, 3) mine water characteristics and management; and 4) utilization of local materials and plant species to support mine reclamation.
Sixteen topics were presented namely: 1) Managing reclamation and mine closure: a regulatory framework; 2) Current Indonesian government policy and challenge of mine reclamation in forest area; 3) The role of the coal authority in the United Kingdom (UK); 4) Essential oil bearing tree and crop species as pioneer vegetations to enhance productivity of ex-mine site in early stage; 5) Acid mine drainage (AMD) management through development of wetlands; 6) The characteristics of AMD in Indonesia; 7) Composting and soil amelioration perspectives from the UK and Indonesia; 8) The effort on improvement of soil fertility for better trees growth on ex-mine site of PT Bukit Asam, Indonesia; 9) Spatio-temporal variability in mine water chemistry: challenges for effective management; 10) Acid mine drainage characterization in coal mining in Indonesia; 11) GIS remote sensing to model hydrological pattern, source of AMD, soil characteristics and design of swamp forest for mine water management; 12) Bioremediation of acid mine drainage from coal mining; 13) Organic matter management for land reclamation; 14) The use of palm oil mill plant waste for soil amelioration of ex-mine sites; 15) PT Bukit Asam experience on cultivation and essential oil production of Melaleuca cajuputi on mine reclamation site; and 16) Ecosystem development and the use of old growth rehabilitated mine site for agroforestry system: case of PT Bukit Asam, South Sumatera.
The speakers were: 1) Prof Morag McDonald and Dr Paula Roberts (Bangor University), Dr Irdika Mansur (SEAMEO BIOTROP), Dr Graham Bird (University of Wales, Aberystwyth), Dr Bill Perkins (University of Wales, Aberystwyth), Prof Anis Saggaff (UNSRI), Prof Rudy Sayoga Gautama (ITB), Mr Amarudin (PT Bukit Asam), Mr Dedy Saptaria Rosa (PT Bukit Asam), Dr Didik Suprayogo (UB) and Dr Tri Retnaningsih Soeprobowati (UNDIP). Dr Ir Muhammad Firman, M.For.Sc. (Director of Soil and Water Conservation of Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry), Mr Amarudin (PT Bukit Asam), Mr Armaiki Yusmur (SEAMEO BIOTROP), Mr Ali M. Muslih (IPB), Mr Arief Juniarto (IPB), Mrs Iva Dewi Lestariningsih (UNBRAW), Mr Dedi Saptaria Rosa (PT Bukit Asam) and Dr Hery Suhartoyo (Universitas Bengkulu) also presented their works in line with the themes.
The seminar also featured 13 poster presentations and two exhibitions from PT Bukit Asam and Lampung Forest Community.
A one-day field trip to post mining area of PT Bukit Asam was conducted on 12 September 2017. The trip showcased the restoration methods used by PT Bukit Asam in addressing land degradation and mine water problem resulting from coal mining operations.
The participants came from 43 institutions consisting of 12 universities, four vocational schools, 21 national mining companies, one forest community group and five government institutions in Indonesia, and the United Kingdom.
