Clean Water Crisis in Weda Tengah

THE water crisis in Weda Tengah subdistrict, Central Halmahera, North Maluku, is a sharp illustration of the difference between rhetoric and the reality of environmental policy. How can promises about sustainable water management be realized if the government continues to grant mining concessions that damage the local ecosystem?

At the 10th World Water Forum in Bali on May 20, President Joko Widodo launched four Indonesian initiatives, including sustainable water management for small island nations. But never mind the people of other countries, even for the inhabitants of Weda Tengah, this initiative is like an unachievable dream.

Weda Tengah has been suffering from a clean water crisis for several years. It began at the same time as the start of operations by mining companies in the subdistrict. For example, the inhabitants of Lillie Sawai village, which is close to the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park nickel ore smelter and refining area, are suffering the worst. Throughout the rainy season, waste from the mining ends up in their wells. As a result, the water from these wells can no longer be drunk.

It is not only the people of Lelilef Sawai that are suffering from a water crisis. Inhabitants of other villages such as Kobe, Kulo Jaya, Lelilef Waibulan, Sawai Itepo, Woejerana and Woekob are facing the same problem. There, river water has become contaminated and can no longer be used, meaning people have to rely on rainwater or buy bottled water from the town of Weda, which is 30 kilometers away.

Nickel mining in the 143,000-hectare area in Central Halmahera—almost 60 percent of the regency—has led to extraordinary environmental degradation. The mining has turned the forest into barren land and has caused the loss of water catchment areas. Tailings from the mines have contaminated rivers, leading to sedimentation and contamination by dangerous chemicals. Rivers that used to flow into Weda Bay, such as the Karkar, Woebem and Gwondi, are clogged with debris from the mines, and have almost disappeared.

Mining operations have also deprived local people of their livelihoods. Mining activities have displaced farmers and forced them to abandon their fields. Even fishers have to sail further from the coastline because there are no fish closer to the shore as a result of the contamination.

All of these disasters are a direct consequence of the economic policies of the Jokowi administration that prioritize sectors leading to economic growth, but ignore environmental and social considerations. The policy pushing for large-scale nickel mining, despite resulting in short-term economic benefits because of an increase in exports, carries the risk of long-term social and environmental damage.

The Indonesian government should not be satisfied simply with improving its image in the eyes of the international community. It is all very well for Indonesia to propose a World Lake Day and establish a center of excellence for water and climate security in the Asia Pacific region. But initiatives like this must be accompanied by concrete pro-environmental sustainability and pro-prosperity domestic policies. If not, any initiatives will feel empty, or will even be readily diverted into projects that only benefit officials and their business cronies.