LELILEF SAWAI, Indonesia — On a steep path to his forest farm on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, Librek Loha let out a cry of dismay. “Aduuuuh,” he said, his voice trailing off.
“Landslides, again. They happen all the time now.”
The landslide beneath Loha’s cocoa, nutmeg and pineapple plantations has exposed more orange rocky soil, adding to miles of devastated forests and rivers that are turning the farm into an island of green between reddish brown. Where trees once grew, there are dusty warehouses, mountains of black coal, and running water of silty brown.
This Weda Bay region is now one of the largest nickel production facilities in the world. Burning smelters and multiple coal-fired power plants burn non-stop to refine nickel ore into material for batteries and steel.
Indonesia aims to dominate the world’s nickel supply and is succeeding. The country has gone from having two nickel smelters to 27 in the last 10 years, with 22 more planned, according to S.&P Global Commodity Outlook. Last year, the country was responsible for more than half of the world’s nickel ore supply. The metal was once known primarily for making stainless steel; now demand has skyrocketed as automakers like Tesla need it for electric vehicle batteries and companies making larger batteries need it for clean electricity projects.
But where developers build these massive nickel processing plants, the surrounding forest disappears twice as fast, according to a new analysis by the Indonesian nonprofit Auriga.
Indonesia has the largest nickel reserves in the world. Until recently, it mainly sold its raw nickel (ore) deposits. It did not have processing plants to refine the metal.
Then, 10 years ago, Indonesian officials decided that the country should stop selling its resources at such low prices and instead refine them, to create jobs and achieve higher prices. A massive accumulation of nickel followed. President Joko Widodo has reinforced this by locating nickel smelters alongside electric vehicle battery factories.
In addition to new smelters, coal-fired power plants have sprung up to serve miles of new industrial parks. Surrounding towns can see the well-lit nickel factories while experiencing regular power outages.
Indonesian nickel ore is found in shallow deposits, easily accessible when rainforests are cleared.
The new analysis of rainforest loss, based on government data, shows that deforestation increased from an average of 33 square kilometers (about 13 square miles) around each smelter to 63 square kilometers (about 24.5 square miles). . If all 22 new plants are built, deforestation is likely to increase dramatically.
“The damage to the environment is devastating,” said Timer Manurung, president of Auriga. “Deforestation has increased significantly… rivers are polluted, mangroves are being cut down to develop smelting areas, coastal areas and corals are being damaged by smelters.”
Another problem is waste from coal-fired power plants. The Associated Press verified the methodology used in the Auriga report.
A vast tropical archipelago, Indonesia is the third most rainforest-covered country in the world, home to giant forest flowers and endangered orangutans and elephants.
Since 1950, more than 740,000 square kilometers (more than 285,000 square miles) of Indonesian rainforest (an area twice the size of Germany) have been logged, burned or degraded, according to Global Forest Watch.
In Lelilef Sawai, the village now surrounded by the Weda Bay industrial park, deforestation and its impact are evident. Loha, the farmer, has resisted and refused to sell the land he has tended for four decades. Now orange dust often covers their plants and drinking water is scarce. Plants also grow more slowly, he said.
From your plot, you can hear the construction and see bright orange sediments flowing out to sea. Research shows that landslides are much more likely in deforested areas.
Max Sigoro, 54, a traditional hunter and farmer, echoes Loha. The bright lights and construction noise repel the deer he used to hunt at night. He says he has lost almost all of his previous income since the expansion of the industrial park.
Abdullah Ambar, 61, says the sea near the project has become murky and he can no longer fish; the fish are gone.
PT Indonesia Weda Bay officials declined to be interviewed by the AP, but the company said in a statement that it had planted more than 10 square kilometers (about 4 square miles) of new trees. The company plays an active role in supporting the living standards of the local population, providing economic development, he said, and the industrial zone meets all environmental standards. The company said it strives to protect the water and has launched coral and mangrove planting programs.
Villager complaints at the Weda Bay project mirror those of communities near other smelters across Indonesia, including one controversial industrial park on the island of Borneo and other projects in northern Maluku.
Perhaps related to these complaints, the interest of some European companies in nickel from Indonesia may be cooling.
In recent weeks, French mining company Eramet and German chemical giant BASF announced they would cancel plans to build a $2.6 billion nickel refinery. Eramet cited no reason, while BASF blamed changes in the global nickel market. The announcements came shortly after the AP contacted him for this story.
Indonesia has been courting Tesla, which uses twice as much metal in its total battery production as the next automotive competitor. The amount of nickel it used in 2023 increased by a third from the previous year. Only 13% came from Indonesia last year, but its 2023 impact report mentioned Indonesia 18 times and warned that the country’s nickel will be crucial.
Tesla did not respond to emailed questions about its use of Indonesian nickel and deforestation.
Questions addressed to Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment, and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources were left unanswered.
Nickel manufacturing doesn’t have to be dirty. Using clean energy instead of coal goes a long way toward cleaning the air near nickel complexes. The cleanest operations produce emissions well below the industry average, according to a report by the nonprofit Transport and Environment last year. Automakers could do more to research where their nickel comes from, including using satellites, and ban nickel in deforested areas.
But for villagers like Loha, Sigoro and Ambar, the prosperity they were led to believe would come has not come.
“Now our water is dirty and the fish and animals we hunted have disappeared,” Ambar said. “Where is the best life promised?”
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Davey reported from London and Fassett reported from San Francisco. Associated Press photographer Achmad Ibrahim contributed to this report.
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