Adlunfiqri Sigoro protests in front of Walshin Lihwa Corporation in Taiwan. Image courtesy of Adlunfiqri Segoro. Used with permission.

This article was submitted as part of the Global Voices Climate Justice fellowship, which pairs journalists from Sinophone and Global Majority countries to investigate the effects of Chinese development projects abroad. Find more stories here. 

Indonesian activist Adlunfiqri Sigoro, alongside community residents, workers, Indigenous people, and representatives from other Indonesian environmental organizations, protested in front of Walsin Lihwa Corporation’s (華新麗華股份有限公司) headquarters, a Taiwanese nickel-processing giant, on August 5.

They were protesting Walsin’s nickel mines in Indonesia, which community residents say harm the environment and threaten locals’ livelihoods, culture, and land. They called for improved labor conditions, transparency of sustainability reports, the establishment of human rights and environmental due diligence policies, phasing out coal, and an effective and proactive stakeholder engagement mechanism.  

Taiwanese news outlets covered their protest, highlighting the activists’ journey from Indonesia to Taiwan to protest against the environmental and human rights issues of Walsin Lihwa’s nickel factory. 

Walsin Lihwa Corporation has three companies that operate in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi and the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) in North Maluku. Walsin produces nickel pig iron, a key component for electric vehicles, with a capacity that reaches 300,000 tons each year. Walsin sells its production to several Chinese companies, namely, Shanghai Decent Investment, Guangxi CNGR Energy Science and Technology, and Hunan Zoomwe Zhengyuan Advanced Material Trade.

After the protest in Taipei, Adlun and other Indonesian community representatives were invited to an in-person meeting with Walsin’s management. However, as stated in a press release by Indonesia’s Aski Ekologi and Emansipasi Rakyat (AEER) and Taiwan’s Environmental Rights Foundation (ERF), Walsin has failed to provide substantive responses or commitments to activists’ key demands.

Adlunfiqri Sigoro and other activists protesting in front of Walsin Lihwa Corporation in Taiwan. Image courtesy of Adlunfiqri Segoro. Used with permission.

According to Taiwan Public Television Service, Walsin said in a written statement that some of the information provided by the foundation did not match the facts. The company vows to continue to engage with the foundation, emphasizing that it complies with local regulations in Indonesia. The statement did not directly address specific questions from the public regarding workplace accident liability and pollution data.

A Taiwanese legislator and Indonesian workers of Walsin held a press conference later in the month, calling on Taipei to expedite the enactment of corporate human rights and environmental due diligence legislation. During the press conference, worker representatives revealed the harsh workplace conditions that employees face, according to a report by Taiwan’s Central News Agency. A factory accommodating 1,000 people has only one toilet with no water supply. The manufacturing process produces toxic air and coal dust, but workers are only provided ordinary masks without ample protection, and their rest area lacks an air circulation system.

In Indonesia, nickel mining and processing environmental and human rights concerns have been in the spotlight for several years after the government’s ambitious plan to expand industrialization. Known as home to the world’s largest nickel reserve, equivalent to 42 percent of the world’s nickel reserves, these resources are scattered mostly in Sulawesi and North Maluku, in the eastern part of Indonesia.

Save Sagea Coalition (source: Save Sagea Instagram)

However, this industrialization came with high environmental and human rights costs to the community, one of which is in Adlun’s hometown, Sagea, in North Weda, Central Halmahera, North Maluku. Sagea is one of the hotspots for nickel mining and industrialization in Indonesia.  

Ever since the early stage of nickel exploration, Adlun and his collective, Save Sagea, have taken to the streets countless times to fight for environmental justice for the local community affected by nickel mining and industrialization.  

Global Voices talked to Adlun about how his collective fought back against the nickel mining concession and the industrial plant in their village for the last decade. 

Save Sagea: Preserving the environment and ancestors’ sacred areas

In 2014, Adlun, alongside several other local youth, founded Save Sagea, a local collective that aims to protect the village from the extractive industry that could destroy their environment and biodiversity.  

Save Sagea was formed at the initial stage of nickel exploration by PT First Pacific Mining, a Hong Kong-based investment company. The company planned to build the mining concession above the Bokimoruru karst area, while the planned factory site is located between the Sageyan River and Lake Legaelol. This location is very close to residential areas. Adlun explains the importance of this location for the Sagean community:

Saya perlu menekankan bahwa tiga lokasi ini merupakan tempat-tempat keramat untuk masyarakat kami, merupakan destinasi wisata, dan juga  merupakan bagian dari ekosistem karst Halmahera yang membutuhkan perlindungan.

I need to stress that these three locations are sacred locations for our society, prominent tourist attractions, and also part of the karst ecosystem in Halmahera, which deserves protection.

Ecologically, the karst area serves as a water catchment and storage area. Economically, the karst tourism of Bokimoruru Cave and Legaelol Lake has benefited the communities of Sagea and Kiya Villages. If the location transforms into nickel mines, residents will lose food independence, such as farming, processing sago, and fishing. 

Adlun emphasized the importance of bringing the issue closer to the local communities to create a collective understanding of why they have to oppose the project. In Sagea, traditional and spiritual values are still substantial among locals.   

In this case, organizers localized the issue, emphasizing that the planned mine would destroy their sacred Legaelol lake and Bokimoruru cave — exalted locations where the villagers connect with their ancestors. Locals also conduct cultural rituals, such as pilgrimages, to these locations, and many say they couldn’t bear to have them desecrated by mining. Adlun said: 

Isu yang kami bawa adalah tentang menyelamatkan danau dan goa keramat yang sudah diturunkan turun temurun oleh leluhur kami di Sagea. Kami hanya melanjutkan pesan yang disampaikan oleh leluhur kami yang menitipkan tanah ini untuk dijaga kepada kami. 

The issue we are bringing is to save the sacred lake and cave, which have been preserved for generations by the Sagea residents. We are only passing on the message from our ancestors who asked us to protect and maintain this land well.

Residents opposed nickel mining operations in Sagea. Image courtesy of Adlunfiqri Segoro. Used with permission.

Aside from that, Adlun says that local youth from Sagea opposed the idea of opening nickel mining exploration because the company didn’t consult with or involve the local community in planning the exploration processes. The coalition also demanded that the company conduct a transparent environmental impact analysis, which the company failed to fulfill.  

Against this backdrop, the coalition launched several protests to oppose the establishment of the mining concession and the factory. After several demonstrations, Save Sagea’s representatives were invited to the Deputy Regent of Halmahera’s office to discuss the matter. The project currently remains unoperational. 

A Save Sagea flag during the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebration in Sagea. Image courtesy of Adlunfiqri Segoro. Used with permission.

Since then, Save Sagea has gained more public attention and publicity as it continues fighting to preserve its environment. 

There’s no exact strategy in campaigning for this, says Adlun. Social media and press publications are important; through their campaign on social media, they expanded their network and received much support overseas. But, protests on the street, lobbying, and community organizing are just as essential to strengthen the movement.

For example, during the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebration, a national holiday in Indonesia, residents held a traditional parade, and some of them brought a “Save Sagea” flag to raise awareness against nickel mining, which damages the environment. This is why local youth are a vital part of mobilizing and campaigning. 

Weda Bay Nickel Mining site in Halmahera Island. Image from Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0

However, Sagea is still facing a threat from nickel mining and industrialization. There are currently five mining licenses seeking to operate in the Sagea karst ecosystem. One of them is Weda Bay Mining, a joint venture between Tsingshan Holding Group Company Limited (青山控股集团有限公司), a leading stainless steel company based in China, Eramet, a mining and metallurgy company based in France, and PT Antam Tbk, an Indonesian state-owned company.  

Weda Bay Mining is part of the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), which has started mining operations in the upstream area of ​​the Sagea River. Mining activities near the river have polluted the water and turned the river a brownish, muddy color. 

The Save Sagea coalition will continue pushing the government to designate Sagea’s karst ecosystem as a national geopark and request that mining permits of companies around the river be revoked.  Adlun says

Kami hanyalah zona yang dikorbankan untuk kepentingan ekstraktif kapitalis, tapi kami akan terus berjuang untuk menyelamatkan Sagea, tanah kami, dan juga lingkungan di sekitar kami.  

We are just zones sacrificed to capitalist extractive interests, but we will continue to fight to save Sagea, our land, and preserve our environment.