Palu, 15 March 2024 – Nickel downstreaming, which is claimed to have increased regional economic growth by up to 15 percent due to investment and exports, has actually created new gaps. Based on BPS data from July 17 2023, the poverty rate in Central Sulawesi as a nickel producing area has actually increased from 12.30% in 2022 to 12.41% in 2023.
This means that the “success” of nickel downstreaming that is often touted is not felt by residents who experience the direct impact of the existence of the nickel industry. Apart from economic issues, an analysis of environmental quality and potential environmental impacts carried out by Action for Ecology and People’s Emancipation (AEER) found that the hot water discharge from the captive power plant caused sea water temperatures on the coast of Kurisa Hamlet, Morowali, Central Sulawesi to reach 31.4° Celsius. This increase in temperature has the potential to threaten the Coral Reef and Seagrass ecosystems and affect the health of coastal communities.
Changes in livelihood patterns are also felt by Morowali residents. Mrs. E, one of the residents, said that before the presence of the nickel industry, her village was a prosperous village. For example, it is easy to find various types of fish and shellfish in a short time.
“In the past, from 7 to 10 you could get various types of fish. “Currently, even though we leave from 7am to the afternoon, fish are hard to come by due to the large number of ships carrying coal (captive),” he said.
Not only that, currently residents are having difficulty getting clean water sources. Even now you have to pay IDR 20,000/liter to get clean water. Mrs. E also complained that the gardens could no longer be harvested every year because they were covered in dust from company vehicles. Morowali residents are also suffering from a mysterious skin disease thought to be caused by company pollution.
“If you want to say that we are behind, our village is very inappropriate. However, let alone prosperity, you cannot just achieve prosperity. For the government, where are your promises? “We just protest and are considered provocateurs,” he said.
Feeling the same thing, residents of North Morowali Village also complain about the difficulty of getting quality Meti (river shells) because currently a lot of Meti contains sand in it. Mrs. Y, one of the residents admitted that she used to be able to send her children to school just by selling Meti, but now it is increasingly difficult to meet her daily needs.
“Women can no longer peel Meti. For example, I don’t have it now and it’s because Meti is becoming increasingly difficult to get due to being sucked in by sand miners who distribute it for the development of several companies, including GNI. Previously we could earn IDR 20,000 to IDR 25,000 per hour. “They switched to selling food,” said Mrs Y.
Moreover, with the increasing population coming from company workers, many boarding houses are being built without paying attention to the disposal of household waste. As a result, the La River in North Morowali, which is a source of clean water for residents, has become polluted and residents have difficulty getting access to clean water. “We have to buy gallons of water, even though there is a well, but when the weather is hot the well water turns yellow and the well water dries up. The term is “it is easier to find meti on land, rather than looking for meti in rivers,” he concluded.
The residents’ complaints were responded to by the Environmental Service (Central Sulawesi Province) In’am Fathoni Burhanuddin, according to him, the community could report the impacts they felt directly to the Environmental Service. He also stated that citizens can actually access AMDAL documents from related companies.
“The public can also report to the Environmental Service regarding air pollution resulting from coal-fired power plant activities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mahfud Mawarna SH, the candidate for the Central Sulawesi Provincial DPRD who will be elected later, also promised to create a safety framework for communities around the mine.
AEER Coordinator Pius Ginting said that the government should have a different paradigm in terms of improving the economy. In this case, quality economic growth replaces the economic paradigm which is simply about quantity. According to him, economic improvement alone is problematic and only results in the eviction of farmers, cheap labor wages and the exclusion of fishermen.
According to the Tanah Merdeka Foundation (YTM), since mining began in North Morowali, women human rights defenders have increasingly been excluded from the production space. In this case, meti production decreased and women chose other jobs, because looking for meti (shellfish) was rare, especially in Towara and Tompira villages.
Apart from that, according to YTM, with mismanaged nickel mining, female workers are also vulnerable to their work health and safety: The company does not pay special attention to breastfeeding women, for example by providing lactation rooms like at PT. IMIP; then Nirwana Selle will become a sacrifice in 2022 at PT. GNI because the company ignored worker safety; and finally, the incident at PT. ITSS on December 24 2023, which killed 21 workers.
Meanwhile, according to SP Palu, the destruction of women’s living space and sources of life is a form of violence perpetrated by companies and violence perpetrated by the government because it has ignored the destruction perpetrated by companies on women’s living space. The government must be firm against companies or investments that damage the environment, destroy the sources of life for women in Morowali through regulations protecting women, the community and the environment around the mine, and seriously implement these regulations.
