Raja Ampat is not just a geographic location. It is one of Earth's last marine Edens. Home to over 1,500 species of fish, three-quarters of all known coral species and unique migratory routes of manta rays and whale sharks. But beneath its shimmering waters, a new threat is rising from the land: The aggressive expansion of nickel mining.

Ironically, this expansion is justified in the name of the green transition. But when a transition toward sustainability undermines one of the planet’s most fragile ecosystems, it becomes not a solution but a contradiction.

Nickel is indispensable for lithium-ion batteries and the global shift toward decarbonization. Indonesia, home to the world’s largest nickel reserves, is racing to become a critical player in this supply chain. Yet this ambition has come at a grave cost to ecological integrity.

Between 2020 and 2024, satellite and field investigations show that nearly 500 hectares of forest and coastal areas across Kawe, Gag and surrounding islands have been cleared for mining operations, often without meaningful consultation with local communities and in violation of spatial planning laws.

Several mining companies, PT Gag Nikel and PT Anugerah Surya Pratama among them are under investigation for environmental permit breaches, encroachment on protected zones and improper waste handling.

The stakes are colossal. Sediment runoff from mining has already clouded coral reefs, disrupting symbiotic ecosystems that have evolved over millennia. UNESCO-designated biodiversity zones are at risk of irreversible damage.

More worryingly, these operations are occurring in direct contravention of a 2023 ruling by the  Constitutional Court, which reaffirmed the principle that small islands defined as less than 2,000 square kilometers, must be protected from extractive activities that could jeopardize their ecological and social resilience.

Behind closed doors, mining firms exploit the regulatory gaps; layered permits, overlapping jurisdictions and a political economy that too often privileges extractive short-term gains over intergenerational stewardship.

The Forestry Ministry has already moved decisively by suspending new forest-conversion permits in Raja Ampat and intensifying field inspections. While enforcement across a vast archipelago is always challenging, the ministry is steadily tightening coordination among regional agencies, closing regulatory loopholes and prioritizing long-term ecological stewardship over short-term gains.

Continuous stakeholder dialogue and improved permit transparency are beginning to curb unchecked expansion and signal the government’s firm commitment to safeguarding Raja Ampat’s unique ecosystems.

This is more than an environmental issue; it is a question of sovereignty and governance. Who benefits from mining in Raja Ampat? The communities who have fished these waters for centuries, or the elites and investors far removed from the consequences of ecological collapse? What happens when we erode the very foundations of Indonesia’s ecological wealth in pursuit of economic nationalism?

Raja Ampat deserves a different path, one rooted in ecological constitutionalism and a blue economy framework. First, a total moratorium must be imposed on all extractive activities in small islands within designated marine biodiversity hotspots. This is not merely precautionary; it is a legal and ethical necessity.

Second, the government should establish a permanent Coastal and Island Ecological Integrity Commission (CIEIC) to monitor and evaluate industrial impacts on fragile maritime territories. This body must be independent, with citizen representation and binding authority over permit reviews.

Third, Indonesia must pioneer “ecological dividends” by mainstreaming payment for ecosystem services (PES) across marine tourism zones, incentivizing local communities to protect, rather than degrade, their environment. Such dividends could be funded through an environmental levy on international tourists, biodiversity bonds or corporate offset obligations.

Lastly, if mining is to be allowed in any context, it must meet the strictest standards of green mining, zero-discharge waste protocols, post-mining ecosystem restoration bonds and transparent community impact agreements backed by law.

Indonesia is at a pivotal moment. We can become a global leader not just in supplying the raw materials for a green transition, but in redefining what a just and ecologically coherent green transition looks like. Raja Ampat is not a frontier for nickel. It is a frontier for imagination, a place to prove that prosperity need not be built on extraction, but on preservation and innovation.

If we fail here, we risk not only ecological loss but the moral erosion of our development narrative. But if we act decisively, Raja Ampat can become the benchmark for a new kind of national pride, one that sees nature not as a commodity to be mined, but as a legacy to be honored.***

Surya Gentha Akmal, Ph.D.

Expert staff to the Coordinating Food Minister and a researcher at IPB University’s Center for Coastal and Marine Resources Studies.

 https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2025/06/09/raja-ampats-nickel-paradox-when-green-ambitions-threaten-blue-paradise.html.