Global demand spurring Indonesia’s mining boom comes at a expense for many communities

KABAENA, Indonesia — The crystal blue waters that once surrounded Kabaena are murky brown now, and the octopi and colorful fish that locals used to catch nearby to eat and sell have fled. The lush seaweed they used to harvest is gone. And parents who grew up swimming happily in the Flores Sea now alert their children to remain out of the water for terror of itchy rashes or skin lesions.

The people of Kabaena — including Indigenous Bajau, a throng that has traditionally lived near and relied on the sea — are among what experts approximate are thousands of communities around Indonesia where traditional ways of life have been devastated by the impacts of a rapidly expanding mining industry. Most of the materials mined in Indonesia fuel the international supply chain for stainless steel, electric vehicle batteries and more.

“All residents here have felt the impact,” said Amiruddin, 53, a fisherman who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

With the globe’s largest known nickel reserves and wealthy deposits of cobalt, bauxite and other materials, Indonesia has been experiencing a mining boom on demand for stainless steel, electric vehicle batteries and more that are needed for the global vigor shift. The island country has sought to expand its mining and processing capabilities while facing backlash from international and local watchdogs for various environmental concerns.

Across Indonesia, nickel processing plants sometimes sprawl just a few minutes from the sea, and barges ready to carry away nickel ore often dot the water. Some mines operate near schools.

Local communities and the natural environments around these mines can bear the burden of this intense demand. From 2001 to 2020, the globe lost nearly 1.4 million hectares (about 3.5 million acres) of trees due to mining, with Indonesia having the highest setback, according to an analysis by the globe Resources Institute.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series of on how tribes and Indigenous communities are coping with and combating climate transformation.

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On Kabaena, over 3,700 hectares (9,140 acres) of forest — including protected forest — were cleared by mining companies between 2001 to 2023, according to data analysis by international environmental organization Mighty Earth. That deforestation has devastated the surroundings and livelihoods on Kabaena, said Amanda Hurowitz, a elder director at Mighty Earth.

Where fishers could once catch fish to sell or feed their families, the water is now filled with runoff sediment from mining activities and no fish are to be found. Fishers with boats must trip farther, using expensive petrol, and wind up with smaller catches that earn them less money. Those without boats often resort to eating the tiny shellfish they can discover in the murky water around their homes.

“(I would) fish near there by setting a net,” Ilyas, 70, said while pointing in front of his home. “Now it’s far away before (fish) are found.”

Communities on land are experiencing the mines’ impact as well: Sugar cane, palm and clove trees cultivated for food and profits don’t develop as well, with water sources used for crops tainted by mining activities, residents said.

“That’s the result: The growth of the sugar palm trees will not be as excellent because of the influence of mining,” said Amal Susanto, 32, a palm sugar farmer in an area of Kabaena where discovery permits have been granted but mining has not yet begun. “I aspiration no mines around here, because our profits will be impacted.”

Since the mines have opened, there’s been a spike in residents complaining of itchy skin, sore throats and other health issues. Villagers no longer desire to bathe or wash clothes in the water; when they do, they get itchy skin and rashes said Nina, 33, an Indigenous Bajau resident of Kabaena.

Lab results from samples of rivers, sea water, dust and shellfish from Kabaena taken by Satya Bumi, a nonprofit environmental organization based in Indonesia, in July and November showed hazardous levels of nickel, navigator and cadmium — ordinary mining byproducts.

Exposure to these metals at the levels seen in the lab samples could navigator to cancer, cardiovascular, kidney and other chronic diseases, said Kathrin Schilling, an assistant professor at Columbia University who researches molecular biology and reviewed the lab results.

“If people on this island are using the river water as drinking water — which has higher levels of the metals — and then if they are also eating the shellfish and breathe the air … you cannot escape basically any of the exposure to those toxic metals,” Schilling told AP.

The impact isn’t limited to Kabaena. Across the sea to the north, a nickel mine near the village of Torobulu pushes up against a tattered soccer field and nearby athletic courts.

The impacts and mining continue despite a March 2024 ruling by Indonesia’s constitutional court that tiny islands such as Kabaena require special protection from abnormally risky activities, including mining, as they threaten ecosystems in vulnerable areas.

But Indonesia’s government is still issuing mining permits for tiny islands, said Sayyidatiihayaa Afra, a researcher at Satya Bumi.

Since the constitutional court ruling, forest setback has continued on Kabaena, with 150 hectares (370 acres) cleared in areas approved for mining on the island since April 1, according to data analysis by Mighty Earth. Over half of the forest setback occurred in a concession owned by mining corporation Tonia Mitra Sejahtera.

Tonia Mitra Sejahtera did not respond to a request for interviews or comment. Mining corporation Anugrah Harisma Barakah — which caused the most deforestation on Kabaena, according to Satya Bumi — also did not respond the publicly listed phone number when AP made requests for interviews or comment.

Indonesia’s Ministry of vigor and Mineral Resources did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, people on Kabaena declare they feel helpless.

“What else can we do if the water is like this?” said Nina. “We’re tiny people — we can’t do anything. We have to surrender.”

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Milko reported from Jakarta.

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