Villagers vs nickel mining - 12th April 2023

Indonesia produces the most nickel in the world. But this isn't good for the environment. It's making the sea red.

Nickel's s used in batteries for electric vehicles. Many companies are mining for nickel in Sulawesi. But this is bad for local people. They're losing their farms. Royani farms and sells cloves. This makes money for the family.

Royani: "Clove trees are all we have. I want to send my child to college but now where can I get the money from? In Mosolo, most of the parents, who sent their children to universities, earned the money from clove farming. Nickel is only for the miners. We don't get the benefit. We'll suffer losses instead."

China and South Korea are mining the earth for nickel in Sulawesi. But this is bad for the environment. It's flowing into the seawater around the village. Now, the water is red. And the fish are dead. Villagers like Guntur can't go fishing.

Guntur: "This is all because of the mining. To be honest, it's the mine. In the past when there were no mines, the waters were not like this. It was so clean. We could bathe and fish, now we can't. When we throw bait into the sea, then pull it out, the bait is covered in red. Before, when we threw the bait into the sea, it would stay clean."

Rainwater runs from the nickel mines into the sea. Now, the villagers don't have enough fish to eat. But nickel mining won't stop. President Joko Widodo wants Indonesia to be rich. Nickel mining is a great opportunity for the country.