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There is a collection of some 600 islands in Indonesia's West Papua province called Raja Ampat. It's also often called the last paradise on Earth. The area has been untouched by major development, except for the growth of the nickel mining industry, which has locals split between supporting mining or protecting the environment. NPR's Above the Fray fellow Katerina Barton brings us this story.
(SOUNDBITE OF BOAT MOTOR RUNNING)
KATERINA BARTON, BYLINE: Traveling above clear blue waters, Akwila Mambrasar, a local fisherman, takes his boat out to his favorite fishing spot. As a native Papuan, he fishes the traditional way with a fishing line, hook and a weight. When he feels a tug, he pulls the line back in by hand. The fish flops around by his feet.
(SOUNDBITE OF FISH FLOPPING)
AKWILA MAMBRASAR: (Non-English language spoken).
BARTON: "It's a trigger fish," he says.
Can you eat that one?
MAMBRASAR: (Non-English language spoken).
BARTON: "It's delicious."
Nearby is a deserted jungle-filled island, where a nickel mining project here in the archipelago of Raja Ampat was shut down last year. Indonesia is the world's largest supplier of nickel, a mineral used in stainless steel and some batteries for electric vehicles. The growth of the industry over the past decade reached a tipping point last summer when the hashtag #SaveRajaAmpat went viral. The government then revoked the licenses of 4 out of 5 mining companies operating on different islands because of concerns for the environment. Afterward, local Papuans here took different sides, those who supported the mines and those who didn't.
(SOUNDBITE OF WAVES CRASHING)
BARTON: Near the beach outside of Akwila's home on Manyaifun island, he says he's part of the anti-mine crowd.
MAMBRASAR: (Non-English language spoken).
BARTON: "Raja Ampat is a tourist area. It's famous," he says. "We have to preserve the nature and the sea."
Tourists come here to see the turquoise lagoons and to explore the rich coral reefs. Along with being a fisherman, Akwila owns guesthouses. He's worried about how mining could impact his livelihood because he's seen the damage it's caused before. He used to sell fish on an island with a nickel mine.
MAMBRASAR: (Non-English language spoken).
BARTON: He says the sediment from the mining turned the sea red. Environmental experts also fear that mining would pollute the marine ecosystem here. That's why the government closed the mines. But that feels unfair to the people who lost their livelihoods when the mines closed - people like Bob, who asked NPR to only use his nickname, fearing repercussions in his village if he spoke about the mine closures under his real name.
BOB: (Non-English language spoken).
BARTON: "If the company reopens, everyone will benefit," Bob says. Bob is from Selpele (ph) village, which is near another mine that closed. People not only lost their jobs, but Bob and others in his village lost the monthly royalty payments they were getting from a mining company.
BOB: (Non-English language spoken).
BARTON: He says, each family was getting up to $700 a month, even if they didn't work in the mine, which is a huge amount of money in Indonesia. Normally, people make around $350 a month. Bob used that money to send his children to school, since there's no high school in his village. But now, with the mine closed...
BOB: (Non-English language spoken).
BARTON: "Everyone is looking for jobs," he says. As for the concerns about the environment...
BOB: (Non-English language spoken).
BARTON: ...He says he doesn't believe the reports about the damage. Divisions over mining turn into a heated and even violent conflict between neighbors. People from Bob's village who had benefited from the mines took boats to Akwila's island, Manyaifun, to vandalize guesthouses and to try to scare off tourists.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Yelling, inaudible).
BARTON: A video taken by one of the villagers shows a group of people shoving each other and shouting. Those who worked in the mines blamed the closures on their neighbors who had protested against them. The conflicts here highlight some of the lasting social impacts that big environmental decisions can have on communities worldwide, whether that's a data center in the United States or a nickel mine in Indonesia.
(SOUNDBITE OF WAVES CRASHING)
BARTON: It's now been almost a year since the mines have closed. The anti-mine crowd seems to have won the debate for now.
MAMBRASAR: (Non-English language spoken).
BARTON: Akwila, the fisherman, says he's happy he can live peacefully without the mine nearby. But many fear that more mining companies will try to get licenses here in the future. Katerina Barton, NPR News, Raja Ampat, Indonesia.
(SOUNDBITE OF MAZZY STAR SONG, "FADE INTO YOU") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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