Center for Environmental Education or Pusat Pendidikan Lingkungan Hidup (PPLH) Mangkubumi Tulungagung, asked the candidate for Regent in Tulungagung to pay attention to the environment and natural resources in the area. This message was conveyed by the Director of Center for Environmental Education or Pusat Pendidikan Lingkungan Hidup (PPLH) Mangkubumi in his office Tuesday (06/02/2018) Muhammad Ichwan, “We want the vision and mission of the Pilkada contestants to include matters relating to environmental management, natural resources and environmental law emphasis in it,” said Ichwan. From PPLH Mangkubumi’s observations regarding the vision and mission of regional head candidates published through the official FB KPU Tulungagung account, neither of the two candidates for regional head candidates have included environmental issues into strategic policies if elected as regional heads (Regent).
Exploitation of illegal sand mining on the Brantas River.
So, said Muhammad Ichwan, the Pilkada stages could create new leaders who were committed to protecting the environment and natural resources in Tulungagung Regency. From the records of PPLH Mangkubumi, Muhammad Ichwan, said that the conditions of the environment and natural resources in Tulungagung are increasingly apprehensive. “The context is bleak in quotes. There are many problems related to the environment in Tulungagung. For example, the mining sector, especially Galian C in Brantas River, which amounts to more than 200 vacuum cleaners, is carried out illegally (without permission), the forestry sector continues to increase its graph from year to year, the rate of deforestation, river pollution problems that have never been enforced, management problems. waste and B3 waste (material, dangerous and toxic) in cities which are increasingly worrying and other environmental cases that immediately need serious handling by the elected regional head, said Muhammad Ichwan.
Change of Forest Function for agricultural activities, land cover is almost less than 10%. The location is in Besole Village, Besuki District, Tulungagung Regency.
According to Ichwan, environmental damage in Tulungagung Regency which has reached a crisis point needs to receive a large portion in the election campaign event. We still remember the case of floods in 2015 in Campudarat District, Besuki District, Kalidawir District and landslides in Pagerwojo and Sendang Districts, which were caused by the forest’s conversion to agricultural land and vegetable gardens. The condition of the forest in Tulungagung which continues to experience deforestation, from a forest area of 40 thousand hectares, about 25 thousand hectares have been deforested so that the area of cover is less than 10%. This has resulted in an increase in various disasters such as flash floods, landslides in the rainy season and water crisis in the dry season.
We see that these problems are related and ‘meet’ during the regional elections because money politics is one of the modes for purchasing political influence by corporations that have supported the expansion of mining permits, resistance to tightening upholding industrial environmental standards and intimidation of people who are anti-mining and pollution. . As a result, after the elections, the elected regional heads and people’s representatives often side more with political donors during the campaign period than in the interests of environmental sustainability and the interests of the people, emphasized Muhammad Ichwan.
Contact Person: Muhamamd Ichwan (081335174892)
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