5 Cases of Environmental Damage in Indonesia due to Mining Activities

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In various regions of Indonesia, mining activities often have serious impacts on environmental damage. Some of these impacts also disrupt the social activities of local communities. Here are various cases of environmental pollution caused by mining in Indonesia.

1. Pollution of PT Newmont Minahasa Raya Bay

In Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, in the early 2000s, pollution from the gold mine tailings owned by PT Newmont Minahasa Raya caused cases of heavy metal poisoning such as arsenic and mercury. Residents complained of skin disorders, nerve problems, and the emergence of lumps on the body. Although the company initially denied it, independent investigations showed significant pollution in the sediment and marine biota around the area.

2. Pollution of PT Freeport River

In Papua, the giant mine PT Freeport Indonesia creates a significant paradox. On one hand, the mine contributes significant foreign exchange and taxes to the country, but on the other hand, its operations create extraordinary ecological damage. Every day, the company disposes of millions of tons of tailings into the Ajkwa River, which flows through the lowland forests of Papua.

As a result, wetlands and rivers disappear, replaced by thick mud that cannot be cultivated. The indigenous Kamoro people, who have lived alongside the river for hundreds of years, are now pressed and losing access to food, clean water, and ancestral lands.

3. Pollution of Weda Bay

Research by Nexus3 Foundation and Tadulako University proved that the Ake Jira and Ake Sagea Rivers in Weda Bay, Central Halmahera, North Maluku, have been contaminated with heavy metals. Testing of river water samples showed the presence of chromium and nickel, exceeding the standards of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The orange-brown Ake Jira river water contains mercury, nickel, cadmium, and chromium. Its sediment contains nickel, iron, cadmium, cobalt, and chromium. The orange color of the river water is likely caused by iron minerals. This discovery raises concerns among the Weda community, which has relied on the river water as a source of drinking water.

4. Sea Pollution in Raja Ampat

Kiki Taufik, the Head of Global Greenpeace for the Indonesian Forest Campaign, stated that nickel mining in Papua would threaten the sustainability of biodiversity and the ecotourism of local communities, especially in Raja Ampat.

Raja Ampat has 75 percent of the world's coral reef species, 1,400 species of coral fish, and 700 mollusk invertebrate species. One of the fish species in Raja Ampat is the manta ray (Mobula birostris).

5. Sea Pollution in Bangka Belitung

Meanwhile, in Bangka Belitung, islands that were once beautiful have now turned into damaged plains due to tin mining, both legal and illegal. Land mining has caused the displacement of forests and residents' gardens, while sea mining has destroyed coral reefs and coastal ecosystems. Mud and heavy metals from the suction dredger ships have spread throughout the waters, causing a drastic decline in fish catches. Ironically, many people who used to farm and fish are now forced to become illegal miners to survive.

Avit Hidayat, Raden Putri, Ali Umar, and M. Faiz Zaki contributed to this article.

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