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Calls mount for sea sand export be dropped
Environmentalists question the government's justification in allowing sea sand export after a 20-year ban.
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Children ride a wave at Base-G Beach in Jayapura, Papua, on May 13. (Antara/Gusti Tanati)
E
nvironmentalists are calling for the government to revoke the recent regulation that will allow the export of sea sand after a 20-year ban, which the government is doubling down on by claiming that it prioritizes domestic demand for reclamation rather than export.
On May 15, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed a regulation allowing permit holders to collect sediments, which includes sea sand, and use them for land reclamation, private and state infrastructure development and even exporting them provided that domestic needs have been met.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) warned that the regulation would threaten the livelihoods of fishermen and coastal communities, and Walhi refused to be a part in implementing the regulation.
“The 28 Walhi regional directors and I urged the Indonesian President to revoke this Government Regulation No. 26/2023 and permanently stop all sea sand mining projects in as well as all reclamation projects in Indonesia,” Walhi’s campaign manager on coastal and marine issues Parid Ridwanuddin said in an online discussion hosted by Greenpeace Indonesia on Thursday.
He also warned that the regulation would worsen the climate crisis by hastening the loss of small islands, which over the long run could displace more than 23 million people in coastal communities by 2050, becoming climate refugees.
On Wednesday, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono argued that the regulation was mainly for fulfilling the domestic demands of sea sand for reclamation projects.
“The domestic demand [of sea sand] for reclamation is huge. If we do not regulate it well then small islands could be exploited for reclamation projects or the bottom of the sea being mined, which would cause further environmental damage,” Sakti said in a press conference at the ministry in Jakarta on Wednesday.
