Legal Protection for Victims of Environmental Damage Due to Coal Mining in Bengkulu

Abstract

Until now, environmental damage due to coal mining in Bengkulu Province, especially in Central Bengkulu and North Bengkulu Regencies, is still occurring. The objectives of this study are 1) to examine legal protection for communities as victims of environmental damage due to coal mining;2) to develop an ideal concept of legal protection for communities as victims of environmental damage due to coal mining in the future. The type of research used is socio-legal which consists of primary and secondary data. Primary data was obtained by interviewing respondents and secondary data was taken from documents from the Energy and Mineral Resources Service (ESDM) and the Environment and Forestry Service (DLHK) of Bengkulu. The results of the study indicate that so far there has been no concrete legal protection given to communities who are victims of environmental damage due to mining. The construction of a new road by the Company is not compensation, it was done because the company dug up a provincial road containing coal. The ideal concept of victim protection in the future is carried out by comparing it with the regulations of the States of Bhutan and the Netherlands. Both countries impose high sanctions on perpetrators and provide restitution to victims.