Poder popular en acción: comunidades unidas contra minería de carbón en Indonesia

This case study by Friends of the Earth International describes the environmental and social impacts of coal mining in Indonesia, specifically in Kalimantan. It highlights the struggle of local and indigenous communities against deforestation, water pollution, and human rights abuses, while noting the contradiction between the Indonesian government's expansion of coal energy and its Paris Agreement climate commitments.

• Indonesia is a major global coal exporter that extracted over 460 million tonnes of coal in 2015. Despite a Paris Agreement commitment to reduce emissions by 29% by 2030, the government intends to produce an additional 35,000 MW of energy, primarily from coal, and has granted over 5,000 mining permits.
• In Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo), the government has issued 2,450 concessions covering 3.8 million hectares, with 280 currently operational. This intensive mining causes massive deforestation, destroying biodiversity and the traditional livelihoods of indigenous communities who rely on the forest for food, rubber plantations, and materials.
• Coal mining has led to severe health and environmental crises, including river contamination that restricts access to potable water—disproportionately affecting women—and causing skin problems and lung ailments due to open-pit mine dust. The document notes that mining companies often fail to restore abandoned mines and deny responsibility for the damage.
• Local communities face social conflict and state repression when protesting mining activities. Reports indicate that companies operate without community consultation, and those who demand their rights face violence or police persecution.
• Amigos de la Tierra Indonesia / WALHI supports local struggles by collecting water samples to prove contamination and lobbying the Corruption Eradication Commission to revoke permits from companies that violate laws regarding forest mining, water pollution, or tax evasion.

APA

admin (2017). Poder popular en acción: comunidades unidas contra minería de carbón en Indonesia. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/es/poder-popular-en-accion-comunidades-unidas-contra-mineria-de-carbon-en-indonesia/

Chicago

admin. Poder popular en acción: comunidades unidas contra minería de carbón en Indonesia. Friends of the Earth International, 2017. https://www.foei.org/es/poder-popular-en-accion-comunidades-unidas-contra-mineria-de-carbon-en-indonesia/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=admin |title=Poder popular en acción: comunidades unidas contra minería de carbón en Indonesia |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=9 October 2017 |url=https://www.foei.org/es/poder-popular-en-accion-comunidades-unidas-contra-mineria-de-carbon-en-indonesia/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{admin2017poder, author = {admin}, title = {{Poder popular en acción: comunidades unidas contra minería de carbón en Indonesia}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/es/poder-popular-en-accion-comunidades-unidas-contra-mineria-de-carbon-en-indonesia/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }