Conflict in Podi Village, Tojo Una-una Regency, Central Sulawesi; The districts of Weda Tengah, Central Halmahera, North Maluku, and Murung Raya, Central Kalimantan have recorded conflicts between mining companies and indigenous communities who demand that their traditional environments not be disturbed by mining activities.
The hypothesis for the causes of mining and community conflict in Indonesia is political and economic factors, namely control of customary land by mining companies under the umbrella of IUP by the Regional Government, vertical conflict in the interaction between the state and the people, and the unfair distribution of economic resources among indigenous communities.
One of the recommended policies for dealing with conflict is implement or apply laws that protect indigenous peoples' lands by demarcating land, followed by administrative processes such as registration and certification.
March 2013, residents took action to the port of PT. Arthaindo Jaya Abadi (PT AJA) in Podi Village, Tojo Una-una Regency, Central Sulawesi. They demanded a stop to nickel mining activities which had the potential to cause environmental damage in the area. With this mine, the company evicted the upstream of the village, namely the Podi River, which is flanked by two mountains, resulting in river water access being blocked by excavation of mining materials.
In another nickel mining area, residents of Woe Jarana, Woe Kobe and Kulo Jaya, Weda Tengah District closed the road made by PT Weda Bay Nickel and PT Tekindo, they wanted to send a message to the mining company not to disturb their customary land. WBN has a mining concession covering an area of 54,874 hectares, the largest in Indonesia and around 35,155 hectares are in protected forests. Since its initial entry in 1999, the company has been in conflict with the Sawai and Tobelo Dalam indigenous communities. Mongabay recorded two conflict incidents as cases of conflict between indigenous communities in 2013, just a few examples, which also occurred in Murung Raya, Central Kalimantan at a gold mining location.
The hypothesis for the causes of mining and community conflicts in Indonesia is political and economic factors, namely first the control of customary land by mining companies under the umbrella of IUP by the Regional Government. Throughout 2013, KPA recorded 369 agrarian conflicts, of which mining cases amounted to 38 (10.3%). In scarcity theory, which is a deviation from the thinking of Michael Harner (1970), Morton Fried (1967) and Lesser Blumberg (1978), it is stated that population pressure and scarcity of land for production will cause conflict, because population pressure causes differences in access to economic resources. This land tenure conflict is caused by the lack of strong recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples to land, territory and mining resources.
Second, vertical conflict is often used to explain conflicts that occur in interactions between the state and the people. The state as a political entity that has authority and coercive authority, appears antagonistically vis-à-vis the people. Conflicts in this category occur in an unequal manner and the people are often the ones who are defeated. The conflict between mining and indigenous communities is a reflection of the failure of dialogue between the Regional Government, Indigenous Communities and Entrepreneurs, starting from the decision to extract to the value chain of income distribution and management.
Third, the unfair distribution of economic resources among indigenous communities. As a result of the non-recognition of indigenous communities' rights to mining, indigenous communities do not receive profit sharing from mining activities on customary land. Many economic and political studies study the root causes of conflict. If these things are mixed, it will cause a greater escalation of conflict accompanied by acts of violence.
Lessons from Other Countries
The existence of indigenous peoples in the Philippines is strongly recognized through Republic Act No. 8371 of the Philippines of 1997 concerning the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). In addition, mining regulations in the Philippines are closely related to the indigenous system. The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 section 16 states that "No Ancestral land shall be opened for mining-operations without prior consent of the indigenous cultural community concerned." Process Free, Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC) must be passed by the company as an initial stage to start the mining process. Indigenous communities are the parties who determine whether mining activities are approved or not. In addition, in accordance with this Law, in terms of income from mining activities, indigenous communities have the right to a minimum of 1% from gross output mines operating in customary territories (ancestral domain).
Policy Recommendations
- Implement or implement laws that protect indigenous people's lands by demarcating land, followed by administrative processes such as registration and certification;
- According to Pheni Chalid (2005), conflicts triggered by social, political and economic imbalances contain rational calculations, profit and loss, demanding distributive justice. Distributive justice, in addition to the distribution scheme for mining businesses in communal land locations, also implements Civil and Political Rights and Social Rights ratified by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, for example the provision of a decent living and health and education;
- Politically and administratively, changing hegemonic patterns to deliberative ones such as involving indigenous communities in determining mining permits, at least with a consultative pattern accompanied by knowledge of the good and bad impacts of mining.
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