Not-so-green: Construction equipment being used at the site of the port at the Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia in Mangkupadi. — AP
A vast industrial park being built on the tropical island of Borneo that has attracted billions of dollars in foreign and domestic investment is damaging the environment in an area where endangered animals live and migrate.
The showcase Indonesian project also initially will be partly powered by coal, according to an environmental impact assessment ordered by one of its developers and reviewed by The Associated Press, but not yet made available to the public.
The project championed by President Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, reflects Indonesia’s struggle to balance profiting from its rich natural resources and meeting its environmental goals.
The environmental impact assessment commissioned by PT Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia, which operates a large part of the current development, describes what is happening in the 15,000ha area, where plumes of dust mushroom into the sky along the Celebes Sea as heavy equipment fells trees and razes paddy fields.
It says the project’s coastal zone is a conservation and migration area for green turtles, hawksbill turtles and killer whales.
Hawksbill turtles are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while green turtles are considered endangered.
His wooden boat rocking as excavators and construction trucks roar nearby, fisherman Erwin laments the constant ship traffic delivering supplies to the remote area.
“We are looking for fish further and further away from the beach because there are lots of ships in the area driving fish away,” said Erwin. “If (the industrial park) is built, I don’t know what the future holds but it’s clear that it will definitely have an impact (and) hurt my income.”
The Kalimantan Industrial Park is a “national strategic project” meant to make Indonesia a major producer of strategic resources. Plans call for eventually doubling its size to some 30,000ha, making it one of the world’s biggest industrial zones.
“This is the largest green industrial park in the world and this is the future of Indonesia,” Jokowi said during a Feb 2 visit to the project.
Indonesia is the world’s largest nickel producer and has major reserves of aluminium, tin and copper. All are used in technologies vital to the green energy transition, such as electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.
To build its own industrial base, the country has phased out exports of most raw materials for processing and downstream manufacturing. The government has banned nickel ore exports, requiring it be processed domestically. The Green Industrial Park is an extension of that ambition.
As demand for critical materials soars in the transition to cleaner energy, many countries are torn between reaping their natural wealth and meeting environmental goals, said Aimee Boulanger, executive director of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance.
“We see this stress and tension in Chile, the United States, Brazil and other countries where these materials are mined,” she said.
“In a world already living with climate stress, each of these countries is grappling with how to be part of the solution while also protecting clean water, healthy fisheries, Indigenous people’s rights and habitat for other species pushed to the edge.”
Indonesia is receiving billions of dollars in international support for meeting its climate change commitments, including a US$20bil Just Energy Transition Partnership deal with the US, Japan and other major economies.
Construction of new coal plants is allowed under a presidential decree for national infrastructure projects like the Kalimantan industrial park. But it’s contrary to those goals, critics contend.
“A lot of the world is still reliant on coal-fired power plants. But I wouldn’t call it ‘green’ and I wouldn’t call it a best practice. It’s certainly something that we should be moving away from, not building more of,” Boulanger said.
The project has raised other concerns. Some people living in the area said their land was seized or they were facing pressure from PT KIPI and local officials to move, and offered unfair prices. PT KIPI did not respond to a request for comment.
Residents hope the project may bring jobs, but worry they will lose their traditional livelihoods as fishermen, farmers and increasingly, eco-tourism hosts as dust and ash smother their fields. An analysis by CELIOS of PT KIPI’s environmental impact assessment forecasts the problems will worsen once the project begins operating.
“The effects of hot water waste contamination, coal-fired power plant fly ash, rising air temperatures, project smoke, noise, sea dredging, and spilt coal/fuel spills will cause the sea to become murky, which will cause tourism (industry) to decrease and the quality and quantity of (fish) catches to significantly decrease,” it said. — AP
