Damaging the Environment, Downstreaming of the Nickel Industry Needs to be Evaluated

Nickel downstreaming in Halmahera is considered to violate human rights, cause deforestation and environmental pollution.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Merusak Lingkungan, Hilirisasi Industri Nikel Perlu Dievaluasi

KOMPAS/DANU KUSWORO

The progress of the development of the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), which is an integrated industrial zone for heavy metal processing located in Lelilef Village, Weda District, Central Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province, continues. Established on August 30, 2018, IWIP is a National Priority Project based on Presidential Regulation Number 18 regarding the National Medium-Term Development Plan for 2020-2024.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The nickel downstreaming in Indonesia needs to be evaluated. Instead of becoming a renewable energy as a raw material for electric vehicle batteries, the production process is unjust and damaging to the environment. Presidential and vice-presidential candidate pairs must make this issue urgent.

The report by Climate Right International (CRI) released on January 17, 2024 shows that PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park's (IWIP) nickel industry complex in Halmahera, North Maluku, has violated human rights, caused deforestation, and even air and water pollution.

The community has never been involved in the planning and analysis of environmental impact (amdal), their land is taken without their consent and without compensation.

In addition, the nickel industry operates five steam power plant units (PLTU) and will build up to 12 units to provide a total of 3.78 gigawatts (GW) per year to run its nickel smelting plants. These off-grid PLTU generate a large amount of greenhouse gas due to the low quality coal used, which is sourced from Kalimantan.

Air pollution has been exacerbated by the loss of 5,331 hectares of tropical forest that was cleared in a nickel mining concession in Halmahera. This has resulted in approximately 2.04 metric tons of greenhouse gases that were previously absorbed by the forest being released into the air.

KOMPAS/DANU KUSWORO

The progress of building Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), an integrated industrial estate dedicated to heavy metal processing located in Lelilef Village, Weda Subdistrict, Central Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province, is underway.

The river and marine ecosystems, which serve as a source of livelihood for communities, are also damaged due to improper waste management systems. Agricultural irrigation and clean water sources are also contaminated by waste, making it increasingly difficult for people to survive.

"The lack of transparency and openness of information from companies and the Indonesian Government have worsened the situation," said CRI researcher Krista Shennum during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (January 17, 2024).

Until now, there has never been an evaluation. If there is a violation, there has never been any sanction. This must be answered by all three candidates.

CRI has submitted the report that has been worked on throughout the year to the nickel company, relevant ministries and agencies, the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia, the US Embassy in Indonesia, and other relevant parties, such as electric vehicle companies like Tesla, Ford, and Volkswagen, as users. However, all of them did not respond or give any concrete action to follow up.

In September 2023, the Papua Maluku Kompas Sea Exploration team also conducted sea water testing in Weda Bay, Central Halmahera, and Buli Bay, East Halmahera, both in North Maluku Province. Samples tested at the PT Advanced Analytics Asia Laboratories laboratory in Jakarta showed that the content of hexavalent chrome (Cr), nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) exceeded the quality standard threshold regulated in Government Regulation Number 22 of 2021 concerning the Implementation of Protection and Management. Environment.

Also read: Halmahera Waters Polluted by Heavy Metals

Iklan

KOMPAS/DANU KUSWORO

Researchers are examining fish caught by fishermen in Lililef Village, Weda Tengah District, Central Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province.

PT IWIP claims that regular monitoring is conducted by involving accredited and registered environmental laboratories in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK). PT IWIP has also installed water quality monitoring devices that are directly connected to the KLHK server.

Then, IWIP acknowledges that they have been managing the environment and routinely monitoring it every six months in terms of geophysics and chemistry, totaling more than 200 monitoring locations.

"For fishermen, we have protected the area around the area so that it does not have a significant impact on the sea that enters the industrial area, including by creating sediment ponds and the presence of silt curtains in estuaries in the IWIP area," wrote management in a written statement (Kompas, 7/11/2023).

Downstream evaluation

Executive Director of CRI, Brad Adams, added that this finding implies the importance of evaluating all forms of industrial downstreaming in Indonesia, particularly the renewable energy industry which often hides behind the label of environmentally friendly energy production. Supervision and strict enforcement of sanctions is necessary to ensure the main goal of transitioning to renewable energy can be achieved.

However, he is pessimistic that it can be achieved in today's conditions. This is because in Indonesia, conflicts of interest are heavily involved with the participation of several government officials and businessmen, as well as corruption cases that have not yet been resolved at the smallest level of regional government.

"The Indonesian government's strength in regulating investors is still weak, as everyone is given a wide open path. Businessmen who also hold political positions are already commonplace here," said Brad.

Also read: Stories of Resilient Women Who Conquered the Waves from the Maluku Islands

The issue of this apparent downstreaming is also a task for the three presidential and vice presidential candidates in the 2024 Elections. The vice presidential candidates who will debate in the fourth edition on Sunday (21/11/2024) with the themes of energy, natural resources, human resources, carbon taxes, the environment and agrarianism, as well as indigenous communities must be able to provide answers to this problem. Please note: The three forbidden words were not found in this article, so no need to worry about them.

Asia Trend Research Manager Zakki Amali stated that at least vice presidential candidates must address three important issues related to domestic industry processing. Firstly, each candidate must express their evaluation of the recent progress in industrial processing.

Secondly, the vice presidential candidates must concretely describe their program to create a just energy transition. Lastly, they must be able to guarantee that every worker who is absorbed due to this downstreaming process receives job protection.

Also read: Nickel, a double-edged sword in North Maluku

"So far there has never been an evaluation. If there is a violation, there has never been a sanction. This must be answered by all three candidates," said Zakki.