2) 50 years of challenge and change: David Robie reflects on a career in Pacific journalism
3) Government calls on Freeport to construct smelter in Papua
---------------------------------------------
1) Preparing Lake Sentani as future water source for Papua
June 3, 2024 15:18 GMT+700
Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Lake Sentani, as the largest lake in Papua, is projected to become a future source of raw water, especially in Jayapura City and District.
The use of water from a lake, covering an area of 10,400 hectares and a depth of 75 meters above sea level, has become the main alternative after the existing water sources on Mount Cycloop began dwindling due to ongoing forest encroachment.
Head of the Papua River Regional Office (BWS), Nimbrot Rumaropen, stated that his side had prepared facilities and infrastructure to use the water in Lake Sentani as a future source for Jayapura City and District.
Since 2019, his office has built a reservoir to utilize raw water in Lake Sentani as drinking water managed by PT Air Minum Jayapura (PT AMJ) or Papua Drinking Water, formerly PDAM Jayapura.
The water from Lake Sentani cannot be used directly and must be processed to become clean water. Hence, the reservoir was built to suction the lake water.
After being stored in tanks built by BWS, Lake Sentani's water must be processed before being distributed to customers.
Currently, the water is still classified as raw water and cannot be used at this time until a water treatment plant is built to convert it to clean water. The Papua Settlement Infrastructure Center will construct the water treatment plant.
Once it is done, trials and research will be conducted on the water quality before it is distributed to customers.
The water resulting from this processing must be ensured to be fit for consumption and in accordance with health standards.
Optimal service
Director of PT Air Minum Jayapura (AMJ), Entis Sutisna, emphasized that the company will provide optimal service, considering that Lake Sentani's water discharge is quite high.
For the initial stage, his side will use one thousand cubic meters of water per second. However, this quantity has not been fully utilized because, until now, it still uses water from the Cycloop Mountains.
Currently, the managed water source still comes from the Cycloop Mountains that stretch from Jayapura District to Jayapura City.
So far, the company manages 21 water sources originating from Cycloop Mountains with varying water capacities. However, the water supply tends to decrease due to forest encroachment.
Water sources, with quite high capacities, such as at Camp Walker and Tarbonji, have experienced a decline due to factors such as forest encroachment.
As a result of forest encroachment and changes in the area's function, water levels have decreased and caused environmental damages.
"For example, areas such as Camp Walker, which were previously covered by trees, are now open due to forest encroachment," Sutisna remarked.
He expressed hope that water from Lake Sentani would become a source of clean water for the residents of Jayapura City in the future and fulfill the need for clean water.
Currently, various preparations are still being made by the parties as water providers, both the Papua River Regional Office, which has built the reservoir, and the Papua Settlement Infrastructure Center, which will build the water treatment facility.
Apart from preparing a facility to process raw water into clean water, Lake Sentani's water must be studied before being distributed to 38 thousand customers.
PT AMJ, as a company operating in the field of clean water services, stated its readiness to manage and distribute the water to residents in Jayapura City and District.
If the water from Lake Sentani could be utilized, service to customers could be maximized, and the period of water distribution could be extended, Sutisna explained.
To optimize services, the company also replaces pipes, especially used ones installed since the Dutch era.
Currently, around 60 percent of pipe connections to customers' homes are new pipes that are expected to reduce the level of leaks.
The water distributed to customers so far is not categorized as drinking water but is still clean water, so it must be boiled first before being used for drinking or cooking.
Preserve Cycloop CAP
A youth figure from Sentani, Jayapura District, Izak Hikoyabi, also urged all elements of society to protect the Cycloop Mountain Nature Reserve (CAP) from forest encroachment to maintain the source water for residents in Jayapura City and District.
The water resource has been used to fulfill community needs and is managed by the formerly known PDAM Jayapura.
Hence, the sustainability of the CAP Cycloop forest must be maintained by limiting deforestation in the area.
If forests are not jointly protected and forest encroachment continues, it is feared that natural disasters could occur in the future, such as the flash floods that struck in 2019, he stated.
The government, private sector, and community should immediately take concrete action to prevent forest destruction in the CAP Cycloop, such as by reforesting areas with a thinning tree population.
In addition, forest encroachment, regardless of the reason, must be stopped immediately.
"Let us work together to protect the area. The natural disaster that resulted in 105 deaths should not recur,” he stated.
Related news: On Lake Sentani, village harbors hopes of sago-fueled growth
Related news: Lake Sentani Festival to help recover Jayapura's economy: Government
Related news: Stakeholders must promote Papua tourism during PON: KONI
The use of water from a lake, covering an area of 10,400 hectares and a depth of 75 meters above sea level, has become the main alternative after the existing water sources on Mount Cycloop began dwindling due to ongoing forest encroachment.
Head of the Papua River Regional Office (BWS), Nimbrot Rumaropen, stated that his side had prepared facilities and infrastructure to use the water in Lake Sentani as a future source for Jayapura City and District.
Since 2019, his office has built a reservoir to utilize raw water in Lake Sentani as drinking water managed by PT Air Minum Jayapura (PT AMJ) or Papua Drinking Water, formerly PDAM Jayapura.
The water from Lake Sentani cannot be used directly and must be processed to become clean water. Hence, the reservoir was built to suction the lake water.
After being stored in tanks built by BWS, Lake Sentani's water must be processed before being distributed to customers.
Currently, the water is still classified as raw water and cannot be used at this time until a water treatment plant is built to convert it to clean water. The Papua Settlement Infrastructure Center will construct the water treatment plant.
Once it is done, trials and research will be conducted on the water quality before it is distributed to customers.
The water resulting from this processing must be ensured to be fit for consumption and in accordance with health standards.
Optimal service
Director of PT Air Minum Jayapura (AMJ), Entis Sutisna, emphasized that the company will provide optimal service, considering that Lake Sentani's water discharge is quite high.
For the initial stage, his side will use one thousand cubic meters of water per second. However, this quantity has not been fully utilized because, until now, it still uses water from the Cycloop Mountains.
Currently, the managed water source still comes from the Cycloop Mountains that stretch from Jayapura District to Jayapura City.
So far, the company manages 21 water sources originating from Cycloop Mountains with varying water capacities. However, the water supply tends to decrease due to forest encroachment.
Water sources, with quite high capacities, such as at Camp Walker and Tarbonji, have experienced a decline due to factors such as forest encroachment.
As a result of forest encroachment and changes in the area's function, water levels have decreased and caused environmental damages.
"For example, areas such as Camp Walker, which were previously covered by trees, are now open due to forest encroachment," Sutisna remarked.
He expressed hope that water from Lake Sentani would become a source of clean water for the residents of Jayapura City in the future and fulfill the need for clean water.
Currently, various preparations are still being made by the parties as water providers, both the Papua River Regional Office, which has built the reservoir, and the Papua Settlement Infrastructure Center, which will build the water treatment facility.
Apart from preparing a facility to process raw water into clean water, Lake Sentani's water must be studied before being distributed to 38 thousand customers.
PT AMJ, as a company operating in the field of clean water services, stated its readiness to manage and distribute the water to residents in Jayapura City and District.
If the water from Lake Sentani could be utilized, service to customers could be maximized, and the period of water distribution could be extended, Sutisna explained.
To optimize services, the company also replaces pipes, especially used ones installed since the Dutch era.
Currently, around 60 percent of pipe connections to customers' homes are new pipes that are expected to reduce the level of leaks.
The water distributed to customers so far is not categorized as drinking water but is still clean water, so it must be boiled first before being used for drinking or cooking.
Preserve Cycloop CAP
A youth figure from Sentani, Jayapura District, Izak Hikoyabi, also urged all elements of society to protect the Cycloop Mountain Nature Reserve (CAP) from forest encroachment to maintain the source water for residents in Jayapura City and District.
The water resource has been used to fulfill community needs and is managed by the formerly known PDAM Jayapura.
Hence, the sustainability of the CAP Cycloop forest must be maintained by limiting deforestation in the area.
If forests are not jointly protected and forest encroachment continues, it is feared that natural disasters could occur in the future, such as the flash floods that struck in 2019, he stated.
The government, private sector, and community should immediately take concrete action to prevent forest destruction in the CAP Cycloop, such as by reforesting areas with a thinning tree population.
In addition, forest encroachment, regardless of the reason, must be stopped immediately.
"Let us work together to protect the area. The natural disaster that resulted in 105 deaths should not recur,” he stated.
Related news: On Lake Sentani, village harbors hopes of sago-fueled growth
Related news: Lake Sentani Festival to help recover Jayapura's economy: Government
Related news: Stakeholders must promote Papua tourism during PON: KONI
Translator: Evarukdijati, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
———————————————————
2) 50 years of challenge and change: David Robie reflects on a career in Pacific journalism
4:29 pm on 3 June 2024
This King's Birthday, the New Zealand Order of Merit recognises Professor David Robie's 50 years of service to Pacific journalism.
He said he's astonished and quite delighted and feels quite humbled by it all.
"However, I feel that it's not just me, I owe an enormous amount to my wife, Del, who is a teacher and designer by profession, but she has given journalism and me enormous support over many years and kept me going through difficult times," he said.
"There's a whole range of people who have contributed over the years so it's sort of like a recognition of all of us. So, yes, it is a delight and I feel quite privileged," he said.
Starting his career at the Dominion Post in 1965, Robie has been "on the ground" at pivotal events in regional history, including the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in 1985, the 1997 Sandline Mercenary scandal in Papua New Guinea, and the George Speight Coup in Fiji in 2000. In both PNG and Fiji, Robie and his journalism students covered unfolding events, when their safety was far from assured.
As an educator, Dr Robie was head of journalism at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) 1993-1997 and then at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva from 1998 to 2002.
In 2007 he started the Pacific Media Centre, while working as a Professor of Journalism and Communications at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT). He has organised scholarships for Pacific media students, including scholarships to China, Indonesia and the Philippines, with the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
Running education programmes for journalists was not always easy. While he had a solid programme to follow at UPNG, his start at USP was not as easy.
He described arriving at USP, opening the filing cabinet to discover "...there was nothing there." It was a "baptism of fire" although he notes that currently UPNG is struggling whereas USP is "bounding ahead."
Dr Robie recalled the enthusiasm of his Pacific journalism students, in the face of significant challenges. Pacific journalists are regularly confronted by threats and pressures from governments, who do not recognise the importance of a free media to a functioning democracy.
He stated that while resources were being employed to train quality regional journalists, it was really politicians who needed educating about the role of the media, particularly public broadcasters; not just to be a "parrot" for government policy.
Another challenge Robie noted was the attrition of quality journalists, who only stay in the mainstream media for a year or two before finding better-paying communication roles in NGOs.
He opined that while resourcing was an issue the other most significant challenge facing media outlets in the Pacific today was independence i.e. freedom from the influence and control of the power players in the region.
While he mentioned China, he also suggested that the West also attempted to expand its own influence, and that Pacific media should be able set its own path.
"The other big challenge facing the Pacific is the climate crisis and consequently that's the biggest issue for journalists in the region and they deal with this every day unlike Australia and New Zealand," he said.
Dr Robie stated his belief that it was love of the industry that had kept him and other journalists going, that being a journalist was an important role and a service to society, more than just a job.
He expressed deep gratitude for having been given the opportunity to serve the Pacific in this capacity for so long.
The King's Birthday Honours list:
To be Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
- The Very Reverend Taimoanaifakaofo Kaio for services to the Pacific community
- Anapela Polataivao for services to Pacific performing arts
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
- Bridget Kauraka for services to the Cook Islands community
- Frances Oakes for services to mental health and the Pacific community
- Leitualaalemalietoa Lynn Lolokini Pavihi for services to Pacific education
- David Robie for services to journalism and Asia-Pacific media education
The King's Service Medal (KSM)
- Mailigi Hetutū for services to the Niuean community
- Tupuna Kaiaruna for services to the Cook Islands community and performing arts
- Maituteau Karora for services to the Cook Islands community
————————————————
3) Government calls on Freeport to construct smelter in Papua
- June 3, 2024 13:54 GMT+700
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has called on PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) to build a smelter near the Timika mine site, Papua, to ensure that the metal purification facility is not limited solely to Gresik, East Java.
"We asked Freeport to expand in Papua, not just in Gresik, so that the smelter can exist in Timika, Papua,” Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia remarked in the ministry’s YouTube live as monitored from here on Monday.
According to Lahadalia, if Freeport builds a smelter facility in Papua, then there will be an equal distribution of smelters from Freeport Indonesia.
The minister remarked that the government's request is in line with the plan to increase the number of shares owned by the Indonesian government in PTFI to 61 percent by 2041.
"We plan that once the regulation comes out, we will acquire more shares again by adding 10 percent. Now, we have 51 percent, (but) we want Indonesia to have the majority again. The negotiations have been completed, and Freeport agreed to add 10 percent shares (for the government) in 2041 and above," he elaborated.
Currently, PTFI has invested US$3 billion for the construction of a smelter in Gresik, East Java.
The smelter will start operating on July 1, 2024, with a production capacity of 60 tons of pure gold and 400 thousand tons of copper cathodes in a year.
"Starting July 1, the Freeport factory will process copper concentrate from Timika in Gresik. In one year, this factory will produce 60 tons of pure gold, 400 thousand tons of copper cathodes, and various other derivative products," he stated.
According to Lahadalia, the construction of the smelter and the divestment process of Freeport's shares are part of the government's downstream program and one of the investment strategies to create jobs in the future.
Related news: Widodo confirms Freeport's export permit extension
Related news: SW Papua welcomes Chinese investor to build smelter in Sorong SEZ
Related news: Minister warns smelter investors on safety after Morowali explosion
"We asked Freeport to expand in Papua, not just in Gresik, so that the smelter can exist in Timika, Papua,” Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia remarked in the ministry’s YouTube live as monitored from here on Monday.
According to Lahadalia, if Freeport builds a smelter facility in Papua, then there will be an equal distribution of smelters from Freeport Indonesia.
The minister remarked that the government's request is in line with the plan to increase the number of shares owned by the Indonesian government in PTFI to 61 percent by 2041.
"We plan that once the regulation comes out, we will acquire more shares again by adding 10 percent. Now, we have 51 percent, (but) we want Indonesia to have the majority again. The negotiations have been completed, and Freeport agreed to add 10 percent shares (for the government) in 2041 and above," he elaborated.
Currently, PTFI has invested US$3 billion for the construction of a smelter in Gresik, East Java.
The smelter will start operating on July 1, 2024, with a production capacity of 60 tons of pure gold and 400 thousand tons of copper cathodes in a year.
"Starting July 1, the Freeport factory will process copper concentrate from Timika in Gresik. In one year, this factory will produce 60 tons of pure gold, 400 thousand tons of copper cathodes, and various other derivative products," he stated.
According to Lahadalia, the construction of the smelter and the divestment process of Freeport's shares are part of the government's downstream program and one of the investment strategies to create jobs in the future.
Related news: Widodo confirms Freeport's export permit extension
Related news: SW Papua welcomes Chinese investor to build smelter in Sorong SEZ
Related news: Minister warns smelter investors on safety after Morowali explosion
Translator: Indra, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
----------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.