Corruption on Nickel Mining in North Konawe: Impacts and Reforms for Environmental Justice

Abstract

This study seeks to elucidate the correlation between corruption and nickel mining in North Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, by delineating its manifestations and repercussions on society and the environment. It also offers strategies to mitigate this. This research is a normative legal analysis employing a regulatory and conceptual approach, specifically focusing on environmental justice. The study's findings indicate that corruption and nickel mining in North Konawe are primarily characterised by bribery in the issuance of mining permits by state officials, which should not have been authorised initially. This situation ultimately leads to an exacerbation of the ecological disaster due to the ongoing operation of mines that do not formally meet the criteria for obtaining a mining permit, and secondly, exacerbates the effects of rural poverty. Third, exacerbating the degradation of socio-cultural values and other marginalised groups, and fourth, promoting the perpetuation of ethnocide against Indigenous Peoples. Considering the prevalence of bribery in the issuance of IUPs by state officials, the objective is to reform the IUP allocation process and establish WIUPs grounded in environmental justice, incorporating public participation and acknowledging vulnerable groups currently overlooked by the 2020 Mining Law.

Access to Document

Other files and links

• Link to publication in Scopus
• Open Access Version Available

Fingerprint