Agincourt Resources Management prepare to plant local seedlings in the Ziah Dump area to commemorate the 2021 Indonesian Tree Planting Day.
Batangtoru, 28 November 2021 – PT Agincourt Resources (PTAR), operator of Martabe Gold Mine, planted 3,500 local tree and plant seedlings both inside and outside the mine site.
On this the Indonesian Tree Planting Day, employees, local community, local governments were involved in the tree seed planting activity at seven points, as demonstration of commitment to environmental management and nature conservation in Batangtoru, South Tapanuli. Since 2012, PTAR has planted more than 41,000 seedlings, with the potential oxygen production of approximately 18 million kgs per year and carbon dioxide absorption of around 1 million tonnes per year, growing year by year as the plants and trees themselves grow.
PTAR Senior Manager Environment Health & Safety Hari Ananto commented on these standard and on-going reclamation and rehabilitation efforts:
The first point for the planting within the mine area was conducted in Ziah Dump with the total of 500 local plant seedlings such as hapinis, simarbaliding, and incense. The reclamation stage starts with the land planning and by adjusting slope, drainage, then spreading the topsoil layer, measuring land acidity level, and next by stabilizing by planting fast-growing cover crops. This planting of the stand of trees is the last and most impressive activity.
One Man, One Tree
PT Agincourt Resources (PTAR) Management Representative prepares to plant local plant/tree seedlings in the Ziah Dump area to commemorate the 2021 Indonesian Tree Planting Day.
South Tapanuli Regent H. Dolly P. Pasaribu passes plant and tree seedlings to a member of the Disaster Resilient Village Volunteer Group.
Building Nursery Competency
PTAR is actively cooperating with village governments to develop the local endemic tree seed nurseries in two villages, namely in Muara Hutaraja and Hapesong Baru. With seedlings from these nurseries planted by various Destana in order to reach areas in need of reforestation and tree diversity. These nurseries are important success markers of community growth and sustainable practices.
It should be remembered, that Indonesian Tree Planting Day had been stipulated by the Indonesian government based on the Presidential Decision of the Republic of Indonesia No. 24 Year 2008. Today, with our regular celebration of this life-affirming event, we have arrived at a collective determination to raise awareness, bestow concern to communities, recognize the importance of forests and land resources, and achieve the best in sustainability management.
South Tapanuli Regent H. Dolly P. Pasaribu appreciated PTAR’s efforts to be committed to protecting the environment in Batangtoru. Dolly hopes that the tree planting activity today can continue to be a reminder for the community to protect the environment.
PTAR Senior Manager Corporate Communications Katarina Siburian Hardono said both the tree planting and nursery management both within and outside the mine support Indonesian government initiatives:
The tree planting that we do also considers the type of trees and plants, to ensure endemic diversity and dynamic eco-systems, both for cover and local crops. With various tree types, they will produce oxygen and maximize emissions absorption. Tree diversity will create biodiversity so that the whole process naturally becomes stronger. As a motto: Let’s plant trees, to preserve the Earth.
Group photo after planting trees for our future.
Tree planting is not only carried out within Martabe Gold Mine site, but also with community and village government in several locations around Batangtoru River flow, namely Saba Lombang, Saba Sipatang, dissipater area (Telo Village), Taman Sari Village of Hapesong Baru, Pulo Godang, and Mabang Pasir (Muara Hutaraja Riverbank) themed “One Man, One Tree.”
With PTAR’s nursery facility, a stock of 1,438 seedlings has been nurtured, consisting of local and non-local plants, such as silk tree, hibiscus, and monkey pod tree; and fruit crops including durian, wild jackfruit, jotik-jotik, wild guava. This selection will continue to increase.
Hari continued on one of the central elements of modern mining:
Land reclamation and rehabilitation efforts in Martabe Gold Mine does not end with the preparation and planting, but reclamation areas are maintained, regularly, starting from cleaning weeds, replacing dead plants, and fertilizing. PTAR adheres to the commitment to implementing the sustainable environmental management practices. All operational areas in Martabe Gold Mine already have plans for mine closure. The land rehabilitation process is carried out based on rules and procedures approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. Every year, the team from the Ministry of ESDM reviews the success rate of reclamation plant growth and overall area condition.
Senior Manager Community Christine Pepah pointed to the future of this activity as a result of collaboration between PTAR and several community groups, such as Destana (Disaster Resilient Village) Volunteer Group, Batangtoru Athletic Club, PERSADA Sahabat Baca Association, and environmental activists of Sumuran Village. By imagining the future, we can move towards that future, Christine continues:
PTAR provided 3,000 tree seedlings in this activity. The locations we chose are disaster-prone locations. We hope through this activity, there will be direct impacts on preventing the agricultural land in riverside areas from flooding damage, and decreasing disaster risks in flood-prone villages. For the long-term, we hope that community awareness to maintain the natural balance and biodiversity will be better, and community resilience and adaptability to weather and climate events will increase.
