Independent on Unproductive Land

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

A man stands above Kolong Biru, on Friday (10/1/2020) in Central Bangka regency. Also called Lake Kaolin, the local community converted a former mine into a tourist destination.

Residents of Nibung village in Central Bangka regency, Bangka Belitung Islands, refuse to let the existence of former tin mining sites in the area — which leave pools of water everywhere — affect their lives. Instead, they’ve had amazing results from turning the unexploited land into tourist attractions.

Andri, 68, a traveler from Bandung regency, West Java, was fascinated by the beauty of two lakes in the Kolong Biru tourist objects in Nibung village, Koba district, Central Bangka regency, Bangka-Belitung province, on Jan. 10 (10/1/2020). On the white quartz sand, Andri\'s footprints were imprinted.

The lakes, known as Kaolin Lake, were previously pits of former illegal tin mines. These two lakes are quite unique because the water in one of them is greenish and the other bluish. At the edge of the lakes, there is a vast stretch of quartz sand.

Attractions like these do not exist in Bandung.

Visitors can also explore the lakes using duck boats provided by site operators. There are also cottages for visitors and trail motorbike rental services.

"Attractions like these do not exist in Bandung," said Andri.

Kolong Biru is located about 26 kilometers from Pangkalpinang city, Bangka Belitung. Starting in 2009, the area was busy with illegal tin mining activities. After mining activities stopped and large holes were left unattended, in 2015, residents took the initiative to turn them into tourist attractions.

The caretaker of Kolong Biru, Agus Saputra, said that after the unused land was transformed into tourist attractions, his crew began earning up to Rp 20 million (US$1,465) per month. The number of visitors can reach 2,000 people per week.

"Most visitors come on weekends. If there is an international event in Pangkalpinang, many foreigners will come here," said Agus.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Zaiwan, a resident of Namang village, West Bangka regency, shows plants growing at the site of a former mine on Thursday (9/1/2020). Efforts are being made to rehabilitate the mine, but some fail because they do not involve community participation.

Kolong Biru management continues to develop the site along with the formation of village-owned enterprises. A number of facilities have been built, including stalls to sell souvenirs produced by local residents.

"Some facilities are indeed built using village funds. We hope the results will be better for the benefit of the community," Agus said.

In Namang village, Central Bangka, Zaiwan, 40, also tried to turn the land of the former tin mines into productive land. The former mining pits are utilized for fish farming, some others are rehabilitated into plantation land.

Efforts to rehabilitate mining pits more than 15 meters deep with an area of 18 hectares is not easy. In general, ex-mining pits are left to become unproductive land because of the existing paradigm that develops in the community that such land can no longer be utilized.

It is not easy to reclaim and rehabilitate ex-mining land.

"Many people say I am just wasting my time and energy because ex-mining land can no longer be beneficial," said Zaiwan.

The doubt has been answered. Some of the plants being cultivated, such as eucalyptus, cassava, pelawan wood and tea, have begun to grow. Some parts have been turned into catfish and nila fish ponds.

It is not easy to reclaim and rehabilitate ex-mining land.

"I had to spend up to Rp 80 million to rehabilitate 1 ha of ex-mining land," Zaiwan said.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

A man walks down a path among new plant growth at a former mine on Thursday (9/1/2020) in Namang village, West Bangka regency. Efforts are being made to rehabilitate the mine, but some fail because they do not involve community participation.

Cattle farming

Efforts to utilize ex-mining land have also been carried out by residents of a number of villages in Tenggarong Seberang district, Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan. The coal mining pits are reclaimed as land for cattle farming.

Located about 300 meters from a former mine pit, 8 ha of land have been used to plant corn. After the harvest, remnants of the corn plants are used as cattle feed. Not far from there, the land has also been used to plant Brachiaria humidicola (BH) Tully grass for animal feed and trees such as the trembesi species.

The farm is managed by the Jadi Makmur Bersama Cow Farming Group, under the guidance of the mining company PT Jembayan Muara Bara. When the cattle farm was rolled out in 2015, the company provided 70 cows to be managed. However, now the number of cows has fallen to only 33 because many of them got sick and died.

"At present, we are learning to manage a good cattle farm. The manure from the farm is engineered into biogas and fertilizer. We also learn about ways to manage the money," said Mulyanto, 35, the chairman of the cow farming group.

We cannot rely on coal mines.

The existence of the mine in an area does not guarantee the presence of welfare for the residents, especially after mining activities have stopped and their potential has been fully tapped.

Realizing this condition, the residents of Bukit Mulia village in Tanah Laut regency, South Kalimantan, do not want to depend their lives on mining. They try to be empowered by seeking renewable resources, one of which is by planting fragrant lemongrass.

Fragrant lemongrass plants are easily found in Bukit Mulia village. The farm is located about 3 km from the location of active coal mining sites.

During the harvest in December 2019, from an area of 0.75 ha, nearly 1.5 tons of wet lemongrass was produced. After the refining process, the villagers produced 19 liters of lemongrass oil, equivalent to 17.1 kilograms. Lemongrass oil is valued at Rp 175,000 per kg.

"We cannot rely on coal mines. We must focus on renewable resources," said Bambang Yulianto, director of the Berkah Mulia Village-owned Enterprise.

The residents\' initiatives to change unproductive land and ex-mining pits or efforts to empower the residents in the area around mining sites should be appreciated. More than that, real support from the government and mining companies is urgently needed to rehabilitate 3,092 ex-mining pits and empower the surrounding residents.