Nickel industry stalks isolated Indonesian tribe

The deforestation caused by nickel mining operations in Indonesia are threatening one of the country’s last uncontacted tribes, several NGOs said.

Nickel is a key component in electric vehicle batteries and the government of Indonesia, the world’s top producer, wants to boost its exploitation despite fears over its environmental and social impact.

Several NGOs told AFP that mining operations in the province of North Maluku threaten the way of life of the O’Hongana Manyawa people by depriving them of their forests and polluting their waters.

The Weda Bay mine on Halmahera Island, estimated by some to be the world’s largest, has encircled the tribe, said Syamsul Alam Agus, a campaigner with the Indigenous Peoples’ Defenders Association. “They are surrounded (…) Their territory is controlled”said.

This village of between 300 and 500 people maintains a nomadic existence based on hunting and gathering and without contact with the outside world. But when they run out of land and food, they find themselves “forced to surrender” your lifestyle and “often go out to ask for food”, explains Callum Russell of the NGO Survival International, which monitors indigenous rights.

Viral videos on social media that AFP could not verify show various encounters between members of the tribe and miners. According to a local environmentalist who describes himself as an “accompanying” of the O’Hongana Manyawa, Dewi Anakoda, the videos are authentic and are due to the mine having entered indigenous territory.

“They have always lived in the forest. They say: ‘This is our territory, our home. We never bothered you, why do you bother us?’” Explain.

The mine is operated by the Indonesian company PT Weda Bay Nickel, the majority of whose capital is owned by a joint venture between the French company Eramet and the Chinese company Tsingshan.

The French company says that 6,000 hectares of the 45,000 granted will be exploited in 25 years. So far, only 2,000 hectares have been affected. The NGO Climate Rights International said this year that the mine had deforested 1,400 hectares of forest and had taken or excavated land from neighbouring villages without consent.

Weda Bay Nickel, Tsingshan and Indonesian authorities did not respond. Eramet said it was “informed” of the O’Hongana Manyawa people and understood the “crucial importance” responsible mining and the well-being of indigenous people. But he also highlighted that the project generates 14,000 direct jobs and more than 1.5 million dollars of “community investment expenditure”.

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