National Human Rights Commission Highlights Impacts of Nickel Industry in Morowali
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has highlighted the impacts of the nickel industry on public health and the living environment in the Morowali and North Morowali areas of Central Sulawesi.
This comes amid findings of rising social risks and weak field oversight.
Komnas HAM’s Commissioner for Assessment and Research, Uli Parulian Sihombing, stated in Jakarta on Thursday that the study was conducted based on public complaints from 2020 to 2025, using normative and empirical approaches, including direct inspections of affected sites.
“This study was not conducted partially, but to comprehensively view various complaints from a broader perspective (helicopter view),” he said.
The study results show a significant increase in cases of acute respiratory tract infections (ISPA) in the industrial area.
“Data indicates a high increase in ISPA cases, reaching around 50,000 cases per year in the affected areas,” he stated.
In addition to health impacts, mining and smelter activities have triggered deforestation, water pollution, and ecosystem changes, leading to flooding and a decline in environmental living quality.
This situation is exacerbated by limited health facilities in the industrial area, both in terms of capacity and medical personnel, which are not yet able to match the increased disease burden in the community.
On the governance side, Komnas HAM highlighted the suboptimal implementation of environmental impact analysis (AMDAL), limitations in the number and quality of supervisors, and a self-assessment approach deemed ineffective without field verification.
Additionally, coordination issues were found due to differing licensing authorities among agencies, which could hinder integrated field oversight.
From the labour aspect, the nickel industry does absorb a large number of workers, but it is still marred by risks of layoffs, informal work contracts, and suboptimal worker protection, including for vulnerable groups.
Komnas HAM emphasises that behind the strategic economic contribution, with Indonesia’s nickel reserves reaching around 5.3 billion tonnes, there are social and environmental consequences that need to be addressed seriously.
To that end, Komnas HAM encourages strengthening human rights-based oversight, improving health service capacity, accelerating the transition to clean energy, as well as cross-sectoral coordination and transparent law enforcement to minimise industrial impacts.