A jewel of “coral triangle” has just received a break.
The Indonesian government announced this week that it had revoked the mining permits of four companies operating in Raja Ampat, a chain of islands in the eastern province of the country of Western Papua, and one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on Earth.
Facing public pressure, the government cited violations of environmental regulations for move. The conservationists had warned that mining represented a serious threat to the coral reefs of the region and marine life.
“We appreciate the government’s decision,” said Meizani Irmadhiany, who leads Konservasi Indonesia, the affiliate Indonesia of Conservation International, in a statement published this week. “This is a crucial step to ensure that areas with high ecological value such as Raja ampat remain protected from potentially destructive activities.
“Biodiversity and natural beauty of Raja ampat are global assets that cannot be replaced.”
The seas around Raja ampat are considered widely as the epicenter of global marine biodiversity, which houses around three quarters of all known hard coral species, along with large populations of sharks and butter rays.
However, Nickel’s destructive mining spectrum has advanced, and last year, scientists who investigate the habits of the reef manta the alarm.
His study found that the Raja Ampat archipelago is the only place in the land where the populations of these blankets are growing, and warned that mining could boost a critical habitat to the marine protected areas of the region.
“We are very concerned about the nickel mining potential,” said Mark Erdmann, an international marine marine biologist and study co -author, in 2024. If the mining companies begin the open bond mining on the small island of Kewe, “each rain Mudetce Mudetce.
It would also be disastrous for the economy, according to Konservasi Indonesia.
In a recent study, Konservasi Indonesia found that the fish that regularly generate the mining sites closely could abandon these areas if they are disturbed. For example, skipjack tuna, which abound in the waters of East Indonesia, uses Raja ampat as a migration route.
“If marine ecosystems in Raja ampat are damaged, tuna populations in Indonesian waters will decrease,” said Victor Nikijuluw, an expert in Marina in Konservasi Indonesia.
Tuna is an important economic driver for Indonesia, which in 2021 scored almost $ 1.5 billion in tuna fishing revenues.
The threat of unsustainable mining, added Nikijuluw, also severely endangered another important economic engine: tourism.
The charismatic marine species that are popular among diving tourists (sharks, butter rays and sea turtles) are abundant in Raja ampp, but mining would affect everyone.
“These great species, such as whale sharks and other sharks, only appear where there are small fish,” he said. “If the environment is damaged, the missing plankton, the contaminated water, the exhausted small fish), then the big fish will also disappear.”
The decision to revoke mining permits shows that the government is thinking in the long term, Irmadhiany said.
“Each policy about Raja ampat must be based on sustainability and long -term protection, not short -term economic interests. This is a time to demonstrate that Indonesia can lead in global marine conservation.”
Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of narration of stories at Conservation International. Why read more stories like this? Register to obtain updates by email. In addition, please support our critical work.
