Abstract:
Indonesia is a nation with rich ecological diversity, especially mineral resources.
With the ambition to increase their added value within the green energy transition,
nickel downstreaming agenda then was initiated and pursued during President Joko
Widodo administration, turning Indonesia as a strategic area for foreign investors
especially China to build smelters and mine at, especially in Sulawesi Island where
nickels are abundant. Starting off with nickel ore export ban then pushing for the
smelters to be built domestically, the government had succeeded in boosting
nickel’s product value – creating various economic and diplomatic benefits for the
countries. However, behind the glitter of the benefits that the nickel downstreaming
agenda has to offer, beneath lies a lot of social and environment impacts felt by the
locals around the smelter and mining facilities. Starting from the land eviction and
deforestation, the impacts then have rippled far beyond into reaching their
livelihood (job) and even wellbeing (deteriorating and/or apparent health
implications) – directly tied to the pollutions that are caused by the operations of
the very same mining companies and smelters. Through EPE theory lens, this
research will analyse to what extent the nickel downstreaming agenda in Sulawesi
Island has caused have caused systemic harms in terms of social and environmental
impacts.
