A new
report by Survival International has revealed that
demand for electric vehicles is destroying
uncontacted people’s lives and lands in
Indonesia.
The report, published today,
reveals:
The uncontacted Indigenous
Hongana Manyawa people of Halmahera island in Indonesia,
are facing a severe and immediate threat of
genocide because mining nickel for use in electric
vehicle batteries is destroying their rainforest home and
puts them at risk of contracting deadly
diseases.
French mining company Eramet, which
operates the largest mine on uncontacted Hongana Manyawa
territory has known of the severe risks to the 500
uncontacted Indigenous people for more than 10
years. Eramet oversees the mining operations of
Weda Bay Nickel (WBN), the largest nickel mine on
Earth.
According to its own reports, the company has
been aware of uncontacted Hongana Manyawa in and around the
WBN concession since at least 2013. In
spite of this, the company continues to deny their
presence, and has been mining on territory
belonging to the uncontacted Hongana Manyawa since
2019.
There are at least 19 mining companies
operating on the territory of the uncontacted Hongana
Manyawa, most mining for nickel.
Mining in
Halmahera is part of a major Indonesian government project
to massively expand nickel mining to feed
the global demand for electric vehicle
batteries.
The mining is not simply deadly, it is
also a violation of international law. The
uncontacted Hongana Manyawa have not given their Free, Prior
and Informed Consent to the destruction of their forest and
land, and are unable to give it.
Following
intense lobbying from Survival International, German
chemical giant BASF pulled out in June from a $2.6
billion dollar project with Eramet to process nickel from
Halmahera.
Survival
International’s Director Caroline Pearce said today:
“It’s obscene that a nickel rush to fuel supposedly
sustainable consumption is in fact on the verge of wiping
out the uncontacted Indigenous Hongana Manyawa, who truly
live sustainably.
“Survival International is calling
for the urgent, immediate recognition and demarcation of
their territory, an end to mining on their land and the
establishment of a ‘no-go zone’ – the only way to
ensure the survival of the uncontacted Hongana Manyawa
people.
“It’s also vital that electric vehicle
manufacturers publicly commit to ensuring that their supply
chains are entirely free of materials stolen from the
territories of uncontacted Indigenous peoples, or from
companies operating on (or sourcing from) the territories of
uncontacted peoples, including the Hongana
Manyawa."
