Jakarta – The global energy transition has positioned the Asia-Pacific and Eurasia as the “engine room” of the world’s green technology supply chains. However, the surge in demand for critical minerals—with Indonesia now accounting for nearly 50% of global nickel production—has introduced new governance risks, ranging from contract opacity to heightened corruption risks.
Responding to these urgent challenges, and in conjunction with Open Government Week (OGW) 2026, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia served as one of the initiators of the regional webinar titled “The Role of EITI and OGP in Strengthening Governance to Address Corruption Risks in Asia and Eurasia” on Wednesday (20 May 2026). The high-level event was jointly organized with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) International Secretariat, the Open Government Partnership (OGP), and the Resource Justice Network (RJN).
Challenging the Transparency Paradox and the Declining Corruption Perceptions Index
The webinar examined the growing disconnect between technical compliance with transparency standards and institutional integrity in practice. This concern is reflected in the trend of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). In Indonesia, for example, the country’s 2025 CPI score declined to 34 out of 100, dropping ten places to 109th out of 182 countries, despite Indonesia being an implementing country of both the EITI and the OGP.
Representing the Asia-Pacific region, Meliana Lumbantoruan, Deputy Director of PWYP Indonesia, delivered a presentation titled “Open Doors, Closed Ground: Civil Society, Civic Space and the Unfinished Work of Anti-Corruption Reform.”
“At the national level, the doors appear to be open, but on the ground, civic space is increasingly closed. The EITI provides safeguards for civil society representatives who participate in the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG). However, those protections are exclusive to insiders. Outside the meeting room, environmental defenders and community monitors in mining areas continue to face intimidation and criminalization as part of their daily reality,” Meliana stated.
She also highlighted weaknesses in the implementation of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). While OGP formally guarantees public participation through a co-creation process, in practice these commitments often stall during implementation, with National Action Plans ending up as little more than documents sitting in government drawers.
Four Transformative Priorities: From Voluntary Commitments to Binding Rules
PWYP Indonesia emphasized that transparency, without strong legal institutions to support it, has “run out of road.” To ensure that mineral-producing countries across Asia and Eurasia do not repeat the resource curse, Meliana proposed four strategic priorities to transform good intentions into legally enforceable commitments:
Anchor EITI and OGP in National Law. Shift their legal basis from presidential regulations to legislation enacted by parliament. A binding legal mandate is essential to ensure that transparency commitments endure beyond political transitions and electoral cycles.
Bridge EITI Data into OGP Implementation. National OGP Action Plans should use EITI disclosure data—particularly beneficial ownership and contract transparency information—as the evidence base for implementing anti-corruption commitments.
Protect Civic Space Beyond the MSG. Establish binding legal protections for environmental defenders (including Anti-SLAPP measures) and community monitors in mining regions, rather than relying solely on non-binding guidance.
Build Regional Civil Society Infrastructure. Strengthen the Resource Justice Network (RJN) as a regional platform for cross-border data sharing, joint advocacy, and the protection of civic space across Asia-Pacific and Eurasia.
Through the momentum of Open Government Week 2026, PWYP Indonesia and its global partners called on governments and the international community to move beyond treating administrative compliance as the ultimate goal. Transparency in the extractive sector must be transformed into a source of power for communities on the ground, enabling them to demand accountability from both governments and corporations. (AN)