As a racing for electric cars threatening sea paradise

Stark -the ways removed from the drone by ecological participants and shared from the BBC, show how nickel mining deprived of forests and contaminated waters in one of the most biodiversity seats on Earth.

Raja Ampat Archipelago – a group of small islands in the province of South -Western Papua Indonesia – was called the “Amazon of the Seas”.

But the nickel mining – the ingredient in the batteries and stainless steel – in recent years it has erupted, the organization reports A global witness.

During the campaign, the Indonesian government this week withdrew the permits for four of the five mining companies operating in the region.

In A statement published on the InternetIndonesia’s Ministry of Environment said: “Raja Ampat’s biodiversity is a worldwide heritage that needs to be protected.

“We pay great attention to mining -the activity that arises in the area.”

But photos – taken A global witness as part of the investigation – They seem to show that the environment has already been done.

Aerial images show the loss of forests and shoots of the sediment in the waters in which biodeterous coral reefs live.

The global witness told the BBC that land management for mining in several small islands of the archipelago increased by 500 hectares – which equivalently about 700 football sites – between 2020 and 2024.

Some environmentalists, including the Greenpeace organizationConcerned that the government’s decisions may be lifted by legal actions by mining companies.

And one company operating on GAG, which has particularly rich Nickel deposits, was allowed to continue its activity. The government stated to order “restoration of environmental influences.”

The Coral Rifette and Environmentalist Dr. Mark Erdman told BBC News that he was “undermined, and so happy” to withdraw the government’s decision to mining.

“This is a global epicenter of the maritime biodiversity,” he said BBC News.

D -r Erdman worked in Raj Ampat for more than two decades and is one of the founders of the shark restructuring project called Reserve. He added: “It was a voice of indignation of the Indonesian people that forced the government to pay attention.”

But this environmental dispute is an example of how the demand for metals required for battery electro – for electric cars and other low -carbon energy sources – can damage the environment.

Indonesia now accounts for more than half of the nickel mine, reports Report last year Institute for Energy and Financial Analysis.

And although the beauty and biodiversity of Raj Ampat drew attention to mining -activity, mining was also associated with environmental damage elsewhere.

Study 2024 Forest Watch Indonesia The link between the loss of forests associated with mining is aactive and enlargement of local floods and landslides.

Increasing demand for the so -called critical minerals forms economic solutions around the world. It was a driving force for the recent executive order of President Trump to enter the production of metal nodules from the Hlybokaje in international waters. It the step that China called illegal.

D -R Erdman noted that the balance of economic growth with the protection of the environment was a certain dilemma for Indonesia. “He has a lot of nickel – one way or another, some of them come out of the ground,” he said.

D -r Michael Go In Lo from the University of Kent led A study in 2024 About the influence of mining on local communities in Sulawesi, a major Indonesian island, which has most of the country’s nickel fields.

It concluded that the mining activity slightly reduced poverty, but there was a significant “deterioration of the well-being of the environment”, including the increase in local water and air pollution.

“Indonesia positions in the world in the Nickel market,” said D -R L LBC News. “But it is important not to forget what is happening locally.”

Imam Shofwan, an environmental campaign called Jatak, told BBC News: “They say that Nickel is a climate crisis. But it causes deforestation and destroying farmland.”

He also noted the BBC that the lowland coastal areas where some nickel deposits are found are some places most vulnerable to climate change, including sea level increase.

Dr. Erdman commented: “Nickel dilemma is horrible.

“The mining will always be environmentally friendly and all of us usually think that electrification is a good idea. But which acceptable damage we are willing to see?”

The BBC appealed to the Indonesian government for comment but did not receive an answer.