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  Yahoo News 14 Feb 07
Indonesian activists back ban on sand for Singapore

Jakarta Post 13 Feb 07
Indonesia dismisses criticism of sand export ban
Abdul Khalik

Jakarta: Indonesia on Monday rejected Singapore's accusation that the ban on sand exports to the city-state was unnecessary, replying that Indonesia had good reason to impose the ban and that such attacks were unjustified.

"We have very strong reasons to ban sand exports to any country, including Singapore," Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said.

Desra, who is also the ministry director for international security and disarmament, said the sand mining had caused very severe environmental damage in many Indonesian islands, including in Sebayik and Nipah islands.

A high-ranking official at the ministry said that sand mining had deteriorated areas of Indonesia's outer islands, threatening to narrow the nation's territory. The official, who asked for anonymity, added that since some parts of the Indonesia-Singapore border were still in dispute, the mining, which is often in these areas, could cause Indonesia to lose the basis for some territorial claims.

Indonesia's ban on the export of sand took effect last week, and applied to all states. But Singapore was hit hardest by the ban.

The nation has been by far the largest importer of Indonesian sand, for use on its ongoing land reclamation projects. The ban sent shares in the nation's construction companies plummeting amid speculation they would have to import concrete sand from more expensive sources.

Singaporean ministers promptly responded to the ban, saying Indonesia had no grounds for banning sand exports to the country.

Singapore's National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan told the nation's Parliament on Monday that the ban was unjustified, and that the price of the exports was already supposed to have factored in the cost of environmental degradation.

"Based on what we know, the Indonesian sand suppliers who are licensed by the Indonesian government are obliged to plow some of their proceeds ... into environmental reconstruction, and that is built into the price of the sand," he told The Associated Press.

Mah also said it was regrettable that Indonesia did not take up Singapore's offers to assist in addressing environmental concerns over sand mining before imposing the ban.

Foreign Minister George Yeo also disputed Indonesia's claims the ban was imposed to protect the sprawling archipelago's national border. "It is not possible for Indonesia's export of land sand to affect its maritime boundaries," Yeo was quoted as saying by AP in the same Parliament session.

"According to our contractors who imported the land sand from Indonesia, the sources of their Indonesian suppliers were from inland locations away from the border islands of Indonesia," Yeo said.

Singapore's building authority on Jan. 31 said it would release concreting sand from its stockpile to make up for shortfalls caused by the ban. Mah said that sand from alternative sources was expected to be more expensive due to higher transportation costs, and said it would only increase the overall cost of project development by a "manageable" one to three percent.

Yahoo News 14 Feb 07
Indonesian activists back ban on sand for Singapore

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesian rights and environmental groups have called on the government to maintain its ban on sand exports, the latest irritant in relations with neighbouring Singapore.

Indonesia last month banned the export of sand, which is vital for Singapore's booming construction industry and land reclamation as the island republic has virtually no natural resources of its own.

"Indonesia gets the bad end of the deal (on the trade) ... our environment is destroyed. We demand Singapore pay for the environmental rehabilitation," Hermanjaya, from Ocean Watch, told AFP Wednesday.

He said sand mining in several areas, especially in the Riau islands, caused the extinction of several fish species, destruction of coral reefs and the disappearance of a number of small islands.

The environmental group said it was also worried about "news of Singapore's lobby efforts to renew their borders based on their (newly) reclaimed land."

"Singapore should sit down with Indonesia to clearly determine the border, which is still unclear," said Hermanjaya. Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said the ban was imposed "to prevent further deterioration."

"The sand mining has created severe environmental damage to Indonesia, specially in the Sebayik and Nipah (islands)," he told AFP. Percaya added that "the issue of the maritime boundary is not settled."

Singapore's National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said Monday the city-state was disappointed with the ban. He told parliament that Indonesian claims of environmental damage and the potential impact on its boundaries "are not justified."

Jakarta imposed the ban on sand excavated from land last month, but gave contractors until February 5 to honour existing contracts. Land sand is an ingredient for the concrete used in buildings.

The latest prohibition followed Indonesia's February 2003 ban on the export to Singapore of sea sand used for land reclamation.

Most of the sand exports to Singapore are taken from Indonesia's Riau islands, near the city-state.
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