Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB), Indonesia – A number of civil society organizations under the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia Coalition from the Yogyakarta, East Java, and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) regions voiced the urgency of implementing a moratorium on mining permits.
The call for a moratorium was made publicly during a media discussion themed “The Urgency of a Mining Permit Moratorium: Improving Mineral and Coal Governance Amid the Rise of Illegal Mining and National Strategic Projects (PSN) Development in Java Island and the Nusa Tenggara Islands”, held in hybrid format from Lombok, NTB, on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.
The regional PWYP Indonesia coalition argues that current mining practices have increasingly generated serious problems from destructive environmental impacts to economic outcomes that fail to improve community welfare.
The government’s claim that mining contributes significantly to national revenue is not entirely true, nor does it compensate for the negative externalities experienced by local communities. In fact, poverty remains prevalent in mining areas across the country.
“We have found various alleged human rights violations committed by mining companies, which have led to the loss of people’s livelihoods around mining sites.”
“People are living in poverty and despair. This reality contradicts the spirit and ideals of Indonesia, where natural resource management is supposed to serve the people’s prosperity,” said Badaruddin, Director of the Legal Aid Study Institute (LSBH) NTB.
NTB faces a critical situation due to uncontrolled mining expansion. Amri Nuryadin, Director of WALHI NTB, stated that as of 2024, there are 355 active mining business permits (IUP) covering a total concession area of 219,000 hectares. Mining has caused alarming deforestation and threatens food security. Economically, the agricultural sector provides greater benefits than mining.
“Over the past 10 years, NTB has lost 25,000 hectares of agricultural land. Today’s mining operations risk losing 125,000 tons of milled dry rice or 70,000 tons of rice per year. This equals the annual food needs of 500,000 people, or 20% of Central Lombok’s population. The agricultural sector contributes 19–21% of the GRDP, higher than mining’s mere 7–9%,” he said.
WALHI NTB calls for a total moratorium on mining permits accompanied by environmental restoration. “Stop issuing new mining permits, conduct independent environmental and spatial audits, and initiate community-based restoration in damaged areas. Reorient the economy from extractive industries toward sustainable agriculture,” he emphasized.
SOMASI NTB stressed that the moratorium is not merely about halting exploitation it’s also an effort to restore social and ecological justice. This is a fundamental step toward transparent, fair, and sustainable natural resource governance that prioritizes communities and the environment.
“Development must consider ecological sustainability so its benefits can be felt by everyone,” said Michael Waroy, Researcher at SOMASI NTB.
In Yogyakarta, extractive activities have exceeded ecological carrying capacity, leading to severe degradation. Ahmad Hedar, Executive Director of IDEA Yogyakarta, noted 101 sites of land conversion caused by mining 49.20 hectares (15.17%) of which lie outside officially designated mining areas.
IDEA’s cost–benefit analysis shows mining’s harm far outweighs its contribution. “For every Rp1 in mining benefits, the losses exceed Rp10. Yogyakarta is undergoing a systemic ecological crisis: groundwater levels drop 0.3–1.7 meters annually, Merapi and Gunung Sewu karst water catchments are degraded, vegetation loss triggers erosion and sedimentation, and rivers like Progo, Opak, Gendol, and Menoreh are silting and changing course. Landslides, floods, subsidence, and drought are worsening every year clear signs the environment has surpassed its safe limits,” said Hedar.
He added that mining has failed to improve the local economy and instead worsened living conditions. “Mining activities in Yogyakarta reduce community welfare, destroy local economies, restrict financial access, worsen health quality, and heighten ecological disaster risks. This data shows mining is not a driver of development, it is the root of a structured socio-ecological crisis.”
The rise of National Strategic Projects (PSN) further burdens the environment, not only those directly linked to mining but also other infrastructure projects. “Mining and PSN in Java trade people’s lives for short-term profit. Public costs outweigh the benefits: villages lose, food security declines, and nature’s carrying capacity collapses. PSN projects have become extractive drivers since most are tied to resource extraction. Moratorium is not anti-development. It’s the most rational step to ensure development doesn’t destroy what it aims to protect,” said Hedar.
Solidaritas Perempuan (SP) Mataram also highlighted how PSN projects linked to mining result in land grabbing and the displacement of local people, including women. Based on SP’s years of assistance, infrastructure and energy projects. Including miningoften neglect environmental sustainability and women’s rights.
“Development promoted as an economic solution has, in reality, increased women’s domestic and livelihood burdens,” said Siti Nurhidayati, Coordinator of SP Mataram.
“Together with civil society networks, we call for an urgent mining moratorium to stop ecological destruction and ensure community especially women’s safety. This moratorium is part of a broader call to reorient NTB’s development toward life, not just investment and short-term economic interests.”
Meanwhile, East Java (Jatim) faces similar challenges. Mining contributes heavily to environmental degradation, while weak supervision has led to rampant illegal mining particularly in Tuban, Pasuruan, and Lumajang.
According to FITRA East Java, there are around 649 illegal mining sites in these three regions.
“Thus, governance reform, stronger monitoring, and law enforcement are far more urgent than issuing new permits,” said Dakelan, FITRA Jatim Coordinator.
“A moratorium in East Java is not an anti-investment move, it’s a policy pause to restructure mining governance more fairly and sustainably. Without it, East Java risks an ecological, social, and spatial crisis that could hinder the province’s long-term development goals.”
Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia Coalition
Regional Yogyakarta, East Java, and West Nusa Tenggara
(LSBH NTB, WALHI NTB, SOMASI NTB, IDEA Yogyakarta, FITRA East Java)
Contact persons:
- LSBH NTB: Badaruddin (+62 877-5207-3337)
- WALHI NTB: Amri Nuryadin (+62 812-3757-2124)
- SOMASI NTB: Michael (+62 812-9329-6640)
- IDEA Yogyakarta: Ahmad Hedar (+62 822-2543-4796)
- FITRA Jatim: Dakelan (+62 813-3202-5450)
- PWYP Indonesia: Ariyansah NK (+62 822-5101-6033)