Indonesian version

Canadian mining company Baru Gold Corporation will soon start mining on beautiful Sangihe Island in Indonesia. The mining concession covers more than half of Sangihe Island, threatening ancient forests, several species of endemic birds and water supply for residents.

Sign the petition to tell Baru Gold Corporation and the Indonesian government that the world is watching — this mining permit must be revoked. Together, let’s #SaveSangiheIsland.

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Sangihe is an island only 100 km2 bigger than the city of Toronto, yet half of it will be mined by the corporation.

This will cause environmental chaos, for the lives in the sea, forests and also for the Indigenous people. Ironically, the province where Sangihe Island is was also the place where the World Ocean Declaration was signed.

The contract given by the Indonesian government to Baru Gold Corporation is highly controversial in several respects.

First of all, it violates Indonesian law. Article 35(k) of Law 27/2007 relating to small islands and coastal management and later amended by UU 1/2014 states clearly: “no one is allowed to exploit minerals on small islands”. UU 27/2007 states that islands smaller than 2000 km2 are protected from destruction.

While the mining concession grants almost half of the island of Sangihe to be exploited by PT. Tambang Mas Sangihe (TMS), the Indonesian company registered by Baru Gold Corporation. The concession was given in 2009, two years after the law was issued.

Secondly, it breaches the World Ocean Declaration which was signed by almost 80 countries during the World Ocean Conference in Manado, North Sulawesi in May 2009, including Indonesia as host and Canada as a guest, both signatures of the Declaration.

The Declaration commits signatories to implement long term conservation and sustainable management of marine resources to fulfill internationally agreed development goals, including the United Nations Millennium Development Goals on human health, food security, poverty alleviation and disaster-preparedness, where these relate to the marine environment.

The capital of North Sulawesi Province hosts the Regional Coral Triangle Secretariat which was built in Manado as a result of the Coral Triangle Summit that took place under the umbrella of the World Ocean Conference and was meant to underline the commitment of the six member countries. However, the exploration concession was granted to East Asia Minerals Corporation in the very same year, or behind the stage, thus the International Ocean Declaration appears as a theatrical joke.

Thirdly, the approval to the Environmental Permit (AMDAL/ EIA) appeared suddenly out of nowhere in September 2020, ignoring all the requirements that need to be fulfilled by law in order to be granted.

From statements of the local traditional leaders (ketua adat) it appears that the affected people and local communities were not involved at any stage. There was neither socialization on the local level nor discussion. Article 135 of the Law 4 / 2009 requires mining operators to hold the consent of the landowners or holders of land rights.

As the chairman of the Tradition Board of the People of Sangihe Regency, Olden Ambui, stated in a public declaration on April 3rd, 2021: “Our environment needs to be saved from any kind of human destruction out of greed. If man will destroy it, there will be terrible disasters coming upon us, because nature will punish us. Therefore, we, the people of Sangihe, reject PT. Tambang Mas Sangihe and forbid it to exploit our land.”

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