Indonesia has the world’s largest known supply of nickel and major supplies of valuable minerals, including cobalt and bauxite. However, the mining industry there is being criticized for not protecting the environment and some Indonesian island people.
The Southeast Asian country is involved in mining that produces materials important to the manufacture of stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries, among other things.
Indonesia is aiming to expand its mining and processing industries. But the development could face opposition from international and local groups.
Nickel processing centers are becoming more common in parts of Indonesia. Sometimes, the plants are near the sea where many boats line up to carry ore, a mineral combination that contains nickel. Sometimes, these plants are near schools or places where local people fish or farm.
The World Resources Institute, based in Washington D.C., says from 2001 to 2020, 1.4 million hectares of trees were cut down around the world. Indonesia is estimated to have had the highest loss.
Amanda Hurowitz is a director with Mighty Earth. The environmental group is also based in Washington, D.C. Hurowitz said that, on the island of Kabaena, mining companies have cleared 3,700 hectares of forest in the last 22 years.
Fishermen who used to fish off the island have said the waters are filled with sediment from the mines. People in farming communities also say they are affected. They say sugar cane, sugar palms and clove trees do not grow well anymore.
Amal Susanto is a sugar palm farmer. He said: “That’s the effect: The growth of the sugar palm trees will not be as good because of the influence of mining.” Susanto lives in an area where permits have been approved but mining has not yet begun.
People living in the area have reported health problems. Some told the Associated Press (AP) that they suffered from itchy skin, sore throat and other difficulties.
The Indonesia-based nonprofit group Satya Bumi sent water, dust and shellfish from the area to a laboratory this year. The group said the results showed dangerous levels of nickel, lead and cadmium. These substances are linked to mining.
Kathrin Shilling is an assistant professor and biology researcher at Columbia University in New York City. She studied the lab results. Shilling told the AP, “If people on this island are using the river water as drinking water…you cannot escape basically any of the exposure to those toxic metals.”
Kabaena is not the only place affected. To the north, on a larger island, Torobulu is another place where mining damage can be seen.
The mining problems continue although Indonesia’s constitutional court ruled in March of this year that small islands such as Kabaena should have special protection. However, a researcher from Satya Bumi said the government is still approving mining permits.
The group Mighty Earth said 150 hectares of forest have been cleared on Kabaena since April 1. And it said over half of that was on land controlled by the mining company Tonia Mitra Sejahtera. The company and Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources did not answer requests for comment from the AP.
Amiruddin is a 53-year-old fisherman on Kabaena Island. He said the results of the government permits for mining have affected many people.
“All residents here have felt the impact,” he said.
I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.
Yusuf Wahil and Victoria Milko reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
batteries –n. a device that chemically stores power and can produce electrical current
sore –adj. painful
toxic –adj. something that is poisonous
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