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Sea sand export plan threatens islands, coastal communities
The export of sea sand may threaten islands across the archipelago, as well as the livelihoods of people living on them, as sand dredging has caused dozens of islands to disappear in the past, environmentalists have warned.
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A crane on a floating platform extracts sand from the seabed in Benoa Bay, Bali on Jan. 29, 2024. (Shutterstock/moonmovie)
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recent decision made by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration to lift a decades-old ban on sea sand exports has raised concerns that it may jeopardize the country’s islands and the people living on them.
The Trade Ministry recently issued two ministerial regulations that would allow sea sand exports, after they were previously banned for more than 20 years. The ministerial regulations are the derivative policy of a 2023 government regulation (PP) on the management of marine sediment, with a provision allowing Indonesia to export dredged sand.
The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry later announced that the areas in which dredging for export would be permitted included the waters off Natuna Islands in Riau Islands where around 9 billion cubic meters of sand can be dredged, more than half of total 17 billion cubic meters sediment potentially extracted across the archipelago.
Observers argue that sea sand importers, such as Singapore, which has been using imported sand to reclaim land, will benefit the most from the policy that will go into effect starting Oct. 8.
But Jokowi denied that his administration, which comes to an end on Oct. 20, would reopen the export of sea sand.
“It’s not sea sand. What we [will export] is sediment that has been disrupting ships passing through the waters. It looks like sand, but it’s classified as sediment,” the President said on Sept. 17, as quoted by kompas.com.
