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View all search resultsEnvironmental losses outweigh economic gains of mining in Raja Ampat
The Jakarta Post visited Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua, to take a closer look at the recent nickel mining controversy taking place in the archipelago regency. Tensions have erupted between pro-mining inhabitants and those who have benefited from fishery and ecotourism activities.
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A view of Hemiscyllium freycineti, also known as epaulette shark or speckled-carpet shark, is captured in its Raja Ampat coral habitat, Southwest Papua, in May 2024. The shark has developed the ability to walk on the seabed, and even on land, using an undulating, crawling motion thanks to the evolutionary adaptation in their pectoral and pelvic fins. This behavior earned them the moniker “walking shark“. (Courtesy of Edy Setiawan/0)
This is the second part of three stories.
Spanning an area slightly larger than Florida in the United States, Raja Ampat is the crown jewel of the Coral Triangle, an area in the Southeast Asian seas that nurtures three-quarters of the world’s coral species.
The archipelago’s waters are not only rich in corals as it also contains numerous endemic coral fish species alongside pelagic megafauna like the manta rays and sperm whales. Recognized by UNESCO as a Global Geopark in 2023, its dense tropical rainforest also shelters thousands of terrestrial species, a portion of which are endemic like the red and bald cendrawasih, colloquially known as the bird of paradise.
Edy Setyawan, a marine scientist who has been researching the cartilaginous fish of Raja Ampat for more than a decade, told the The Jakarta Post that mining can kill coral reefs outright, whether from direct chemical contamination or high water turbidity that disrupts the photosynthesis of zooxanthellae, an important algal symbiont for corals.
“[Sediments] can also directly bury [the corals]. Imagine getting buried alive,” said the lead conservation expert at research body Elasmobranch Institute Indonesia.
The destruction of coral habitat will directly impact the existence of one of the area’s icons, the endemic “walking shark” Hemiscyllium freycineti, who tend to remain in one small coral area in their 20 to 25 year lifespan, said Edy.
