The Irony of Mining in Coral Reef Paradise
According to Yusthinus, many mining locations in tropical regions on small islands are polluted by mining waste like nickel. In these areas, local people rely on the sea as their main source of protein.
The residential area on Gag Island, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Saturday (5/6/2021). Mining of nickel material on the island is still ongoing.
The seawater along the coasts of Gag Island is turbid. Sediment covers seabed, sticks to the seagrass and envelopes the coral. Nickel mining is operating day and night on the 6,060-hectare island in Raja Ampat.
In early June 2021, we visited Gag Island in the West Waigeo Islands district, around a four-hour drive by speedboat from Waisai, the capital of Raja Ampat, West Papua province. On the pier of the island, small fish could not be seen swimming underneath. Children were also swimming less frequently under the bridge for fear of contracting skin diseases.
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“Nothing is beautiful. Everything is damaged. Mud is already this high,” said Senen Maktublok, 70, a Gag Island resident, pointing to his waist. The mud he was referring to was composed of sea bottom sediment produced by erosion from the mining zone. “When it rains, the seawater turns red,” he added.
Before, on the shore, Senen could easily net trevallies or mackerels. The fish were so bountiful that local people called the shore a “fish nest”.
However, a quay has been built in the location for loading and unloading nickel so the fish are no longer seen.
Apart from the sea bottom damage, when strong winds from the south blow from June to September, nickel dust spreads in the direction of settlements. The dust shower makes residents susceptible to coughing.
A different face
The face of Gag Island is different from the image of Raja Ampat known by the world as a coral reef paradise. Raja Ampat, with a conservation area of about 1.3 million ha, is a major destination for tourists with a special interest in diving thanks to its undersea panorama. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of tourists annually exceeded 23,000 people.
But the distance is less than 5 kilometers. It is not impossible that the ecosystem damage in Gag Island waters will later affect the conservation zone as determined by the government in 2009.
Head of the Regional Public Service Agency, Technical Executive Unit of the Raja Ampat Island Waters Conservation Zone Management Office, Syafri Tuharea, said Gag Island was outside the conservation area of Raja Ampat. But the distance is less than 5 kilometers. It is not impossible that the ecosystem damage in Gag Island waters will later affect the conservation zone as determined by the government in 2009.
Yusthinus T Male, an environment observer at Pattimura University, Ambon, Maluku, indicated that sediment containing heavy metals, particularly nickel (Ni), was very dangerous to the existence of the coral reefs. Nickel is highly toxic to sea anemones and is even more toxic than copper (Cu) as nickel kills coral larvae.
Residents pass through a residential area on Gag Island, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Sunday (6/6/2021).
According to Yusthinus, many mining locations in tropical regions on small islands are polluted by mining waste like nickel. In these areas, local people rely on the sea as their main source of protein. He urged that
research be conducted on the long-term risk of the impact of heavy metal pollutants on the food chain and marine ecosystem.
Sorong office manager of PT Gag Nikel, Ruddy Sumual, who was met in Sorong, said PT Gag Nikel had obtained a nickel exploration license on Gag Island in 1998. The company secured its production license in 2017 and started production one year later. Its production target was to reach 1.8 million tons per year.
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According to Ruddy, the mining activity did not damage the ecosystem of Gag waters as the accumulating coastal sediment was already there before the mining began. He added that the environment in the mining zone was also well maintained. This was proven by a green report the company had received from the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
Communal land
While worried about the environmental damage, Gag Island residents are also anxious about their future, because the entire island is within the mining concession zone. Local elders feel they have been trapped for having signed a letter of the relinquishment of land on the island to the company.
Saharin Sidik, the chairman of Keret (a customary community) of Magimai on Gag Island, claimed he had only recently realized that his signature was treated as a document of land relinquishment. He described it as public deception, as at the time they were given a blank sheet to be signed. The signing event was attended by government and corporate personnel.
At present, Gag Island is inhabited by about 1,000 people.
By giving up the land, Saharin fears that at any time the local people could be asked to leave the island. “Where will our children and grandchildren live later?” he questioned. At present, Gag Island is inhabited by about 1,000 people.
Yet Ruddy denied that local people would be evicted, although saying the mining exploitation area of 400 hectares could still be expanded. “There’s no way of entering people’s settlements,” he said.
The nickel mining location on Gag Island, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Saturday (5/6/2021).
Ruddy maintained that the presence of the nickel mine on Gag Island had promoted the local residents’ economy. Many mine workers came from Gag. The company also provided electricity for locals with a 12-hour service per day.
Deputy speaker of the Raja Ampat Legislative Council, Charles Imbir, said instead of permitting mining operations, the Raja Ampat regency administration should focus on the development of tourism and fisheries as a source of livelihood for around 80 percent of the population of Raja Ampat people.
The presence of mining activity on Gag Island is ironic when in conjunction with the declaration of Raja Ampat as a conservation zone and its promotion as a paradise of coral reefs. If the seafloor is damaged, what other features of Raja Ampat are there to be proud of?
(This article was translated by Aris Prawira)
