11 24 • Economic Disparity and Resentment: Instant profits from illegal mining are often enjoyed only by a few, while the resulting damages (floods, landslides) are borne by the entire community. • Thuggery and Intimidation: Groups controlling illegal mines often use threats or violence to protect their operations, creating an unsafe environment. • Internal Conflicts: Disputes between rival miners or between illegal miners and legitimate companies holding official Mining Business Permits (IUP) for the same land. 4. Inequality and Injustice • Revenue Disparity: Illegal mining yields often do not contribute to Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP), meaning natural wealth is depleted without providing equitable benefits to the region or the state. • Privatized Gains, Socialized Costs: Large profits typically flow to specific rogue actors, while local citizens are left to bear the ecological and social burdens. • Worker Vulnerability: Workers in illegal mines often operate under unsafe conditions, receive low wages, and lack social protections. Furthermore, there is a high risk of child labor involvement in these operations. 4. CHALLENGES IN MITIGATION AND HANDLING Addressing illegal and informal mining that defies existing licensing regulations inevitably faces significant hurdles. The primary challenges are as follows. 1. Weak Supervision and Law Enforcement This situation is often triggered by the remote and inaccessible locations of illegal mining sites, compounded by sanctions that are frequently ineffective or lack consistent enforcement. Despite recent adjustments to the Mining Law, illegal mining practices persist due to a significant lack of a deterrent effect. Furthermore, a critical issue remains the alleged support from rogue law enforcement officials. Oversight and enforcement against illegal mining in Indonesia are considered weak, leading to the proliferation of Unlicensed Mining (PETI), which causes environmental degradation and substantial state losses. Although Article 158 of the Minerba Law stipulates severe penalties including up to five years of imprisonment and fines of IDR 100 billion enforcement remains inconsistent, casuistic, and hindered by the involvement of rogue actors alongside the socio-economic dilemmas faced by local communities. In response, the government has established the Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Ditjen Gakkum) under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM).
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