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Pangkal Pinang. Appalled by the scale of destruction from tin mining in Bangka-Belitung, Vice President Boediono has called on residents of the province to shift from mining to plantations or fisheries.

“Bangka-Belitung, in the long run, cannot depend on tin alone,” Boediono said during a visit to Pangkal Pinang, the provincial capital and largest city on Bangka Island, on Saturday. “Tin mining has its limitations. Maybe not now, but it will end soon.”

On his flight from Palembang, South Sumatra, Boediono saw wide expanses of bare, formerly forested land, pockmarked by ponds. Much of the forest was felled illegally for tin exploration.

Tin has been a major source of income for the people of Bangka and Belitung islands for more than 200 years. The region is considered to be the largest tin producing area in Indonesia.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, who traveled with Boediono, said Bangka’s environment was in critical condition. From 700,000 hectares of forest, around 500,000 hectares have been cut down for mining. Virgin forest now accounts for just 8 percent of the island’s surface.

And when mines close down, Zulkifli said, they leave behind environmental problems. Most of the 100,000 hectares of disused mining land, he added, have not been rehabilitated.

“Mining is out of control, both on land and offshore,” he said.

Boediono, after meeting with local government officials, said he would establish a team to address the issue. He said the team would draft a comprehensive strategic plan, covering all aspects from the economic and social impacts to legal enforcement.

“We will form a team to discuss the matter. The team will be led by the forestry minister, and will include the energy and mineral resources minister, the environment minister and a number of others,” he said.

Boediono said the action plan would focus on slowing down the environmental destruction at the same time as providing livelihoods for residents.

Zulkifli said that there were several alternatives for the people of Bangka-Belitung to earn a living, such as fisheries, plantations and tourism.

As a result of the visit, Boediono said, the central government is now considering issuing a moratorium on new tin mines in the region.