Jakarta, June 9 -- The Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) has urged the government and the public to respond prudently to rising concerns over the environmental impact of mining, warning against the potential for foreign actors to exploit the issue.

Secretary general of Hipmi's central board, Anggawira, noted that foreign powers tend to leverage environmental narratives to pressure the Indonesian government.

"Negative framing of our national mining industry could reduce our investment appeal, harm competitiveness, and disrupt downstreaming efforts," he expounded in a statement received here on Monday.

"We cannot afford to allow external narratives to shape public opinion in an unbalanced way," Anggawira added.

His rema...