INVITING DISASTERS

The report identifies thousands of mining concessions and dozens of coal-fired power plants located in areas prone to earthquakes, floods, and landslides across Indonesia. It argues that a 'science-policy gap' exists where the Indonesian government ignores disaster risks to facilitate investments for 'extractive oligarchs,' often through National Strategic Projects (PSN). The document details specific case studies, such as the Panau Coal Steam-Power Plant and the Bener Dam project, to illustrate how these investments increase community vulnerability and environmental degradation. It concludes that recent legislative changes, including the Job Creation Law (Omnibus Law), further exacerbate these risks by loosening environmental regulations and centralizing spatial planning authority.

• A significant number of mining concessions are located in high-risk disaster zones: 131 concessions (1.6 million hectares) are in earthquake risk areas, 2,104 concessions (4.5 million hectares) are in high-risk flooding areas, and 744 concessions (over 6.1 million hectares) are in high-risk landslide areas.
• Coal-fired steam power plants (CPP) are extensively situated in earthquake-prone regions, with 57 operational plants (8,887 MW) and 31 plants in various development stages (6,950 MW) located in these risk areas.
• The report identifies 41 smelters that are either planned, under construction, or operational in high-risk disaster areas, including 14 in landslide-prone areas, 32 in flood-prone areas, and 18 in earthquake-prone areas.
• There is a systemic 'science-policy gap' in Indonesia where disaster risk analysis is omitted from Environmental Impact Analysis (AMDAL) documents, and infrastructure planning fails to integrate disaster risk evaluations.
• The Job Creation Law (Omnibus Law) and the revised Mineral and Coal Mining Law increase disaster vulnerability by removing the 30% minimum forest area maintenance requirement and centralizing spatial planning authority.
• Case studies reveal severe local impacts: the Panau Coal Steam-Power Plant in Central Sulawesi suffered heavy damage during a 2018 tsunami, which spread toxic ash (FABA) into the environment, while residents report high rates of lung disease and cancer.
• In Samarinda, coal mining is linked to expanding flood zones, with affected areas increasing from 1,322 hectares to 2,117 hectares between 2014 and 2020, as 71% of the city's area is allocated to mines.
• The Bener Dam project, a National Strategic Project, involves andesite mining in Wadas Village, which is located in a high-risk landslide area, leading to community resistance and state violence.
• The report alleges that energy management in Indonesia is dominated by a small group of 'extractive oligarchs,' noting that the 10 richest people in Indonesia are behind 20 traced coal-fired power plant projects.

APA

Johansyah, M., Saini, A., Nahar, M., Birry, A. A., & Arlinus, Z. (2021). INVITING DISASTERS. Trend Asia. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/INVITING-DISASTERS-1.pdf

Chicago

Johansyah, Merah, Ahmad Saini, Melky Nahar, Ahmad Ashov Birry, and Zamzami Arlinus. INVITING DISASTERS. Trend Asia, 2021. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/INVITING-DISASTERS-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Johansyah |first1=Merah |last2=Saini |first2=Ahmad |last3=Nahar |first3=Melky |last4=Birry |first4=Ahmad Ashov |last5=Arlinus |first5=Zamzami |title=INVITING DISASTERS |publisher=Trend Asia |date=27 April 2021 |url=https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/INVITING-DISASTERS-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{johansyah2021inviting, author = {Johansyah, Merah and Saini, Ahmad and Nahar, Melky and Birry, Ahmad Ashov and Arlinus, Zamzami}, title = {{INVITING DISASTERS}}, institution = {Trend Asia}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/INVITING-DISASTERS-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }