Island People in Indonesia say:
Stop Mining! It Threatens our Health, our Lands, and the Sea
Indonesia is a nation made up of thousands of islands just north of Australia. Flores and Lembata are beautiful, forested islands where Indigenous Peoples live in small communities as fishermen, farmers, weavers, and craftsmen. Amazing animals, including the Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, live in this area. The seas and coral reefs teem with life, too. Half the world’s whales migrate through the Savu Sea, said to be the most diverse marine environment in the world.
While Indigenous communities and environmental organizations are striving to protect the forests and the sea, mining companies are slowly destroying them. The Manggarai people on Flores Island are already suffering from manganese mines, but the local governments keep giving permits for hundreds of new mines. The Leragere and Kédang people on Lembata Island are trying to stop a huge mining project there before it starts.
These Indigenous Peoples–the Manggarai, the Leragere and the Kédang–are asking you to help them protect their communities. Learn more about their struggle, and then please write a letter. Your letter can make a difference.
Home of the Komodo Dragon
You’ve heard about the Komodo Dragon, haven’t you? The world’s biggest lizard! This ancient creature is a cousin to the dinosaurs, but the dragon has outlived them by 64 million years. About 5,000 Komodo dragons still live on Flores Island and three nearby smaller islands. Weighing in at 200 pounds and 10 feet long, they are expert climbers and swimmers, and their bite is almost always deadly. They bring down deer and wild boars, and have even been known to take adult water buffalo. In 20 minutes a 100-pound Komodo can eat a 90-pound boar, almost doubling its size (temporarily). If prey get bitten and get away, they die of infection within a week from the Komodo’s bacteria-filled saliva.
The dragons’ future is uncertain. As more forests are destroyed, their habitat is shrinking. The Indonesian government created Komodo National Park to protect the dragons and many other rare species on the islands and in the Savu Sea. If you go scuba diving in Komodo National Park, you might see a Komodo swimming between islands, and you’re likely to see whales, whale sharks, ocean sunfish, manta rays, pygmy seahorses, blue-ringed octopus, coral—so many marine species that the Savu Sea is said to be the most diverse marine habitat on Earth.
Creating national parks is just the first step toward protecting the incredible diversity of life in this region. When mining companies cut down forests and contaminate the water, they also destroy these vital habitats on the islands and in the sea.
On Indonesia’s beautiful Flores Island, life for the indigenous Manggarai people is ugly. Manganese miners are blasting away the hilltops just above Manggarai villages and fields. Manganese dust darkens the air and settles on everything below. The manganese dust is toxic and can cause serious illness; many Manggarai people have difficulty breathing. Their crops suffer, too. Miners have dumped toxic waste onto agricultural lands prepared for planting. The poisons have reached the nearby sea, and now the local Manggarai people can’t eat the fish that were an essential source of protein for them. One mining company even invaded a protected forest, destroying an important water source and places where the Manggarai people had always held their traditional ceremonies. Water is scarce there now, where it had been pure and abundant before the mining started.
The Manggarai people have been concerned about the mines for years, but the government has not yet stopped this destructive mining that is making Manggarai people sicker and poorer every day. In fact, the local governments are giving permits by the hundreds to other mining companies to explore mineral resources on nearby islands such as Lembata Island.
On Lembata, the Indigenous Legarere and Kédang people know about the suffering of the Manggarai people on Flores Island, and they are determined to stop mining on Lembata before it starts. A company called PT Merukh Lembata Copper wants to mine copper and gold on Lembata. If they are allowed to build the mine, it will be so big that 60,000 people will have to be removed from the island. No one knows where they would be taken, but they would be forced to leave everything behind: their homes, villages, ceremonial sites, croplands, and the resting places of their ancestors. They say they will fight to stay on their homelands. Already, they have blocked roads so that the miners cannot reach the mine site.
Youth Action: Write a letter!
The Indigenous Peoples of Flores and Lembata islands are asking you to send a polite letter to their country’s Minister for Energy and Mines. Tell him why you care about protecting the environment and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Ask him to listen to the Manggarai people on Flores Island and to the Legarere and Kédang peoples on Lembata. Ask him what he will do to defend their rights and to protect the flora and fauna of these islands and the Savu Sea.
If you like, you can include this note in Indonesian: Mohon Tambang di NTT Dihentikan. Hak Masyarakat Setempat Perlu Dihormati. (Halt mining in East Nusa Tenggara. Respect the rights of Indigenous communities.)
Send your letter to:
Dr. Darwin Zahedy Saleh
Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources,
Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan No.18
DKI Jakarta 10110
Indonesia
Letter writing tips:
- Start your letter with this salutation: Honorable Minister,
- Make sure your letter is polite and respectful.
- At the end of your letter, ask the minister for a reply. Include your name, your age, and your address on your letter. You might get a letter back from Indonesia!
- Postage from the U.S. is 98 cents
