Jakarta – The law has proven unable to protect small islands from the increasingly aggressive expansion of mining. The Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka administration, which has designated the exploitation of natural resources a mainstay of development, has accelerated the implementation of extractive policies that disregard the environmental supporting capacity and the safety of coastal communities.

The extraction of sand on Citlim Island, Riau Islands, is a small illustration of the fragility of environmental law enforcement. In June 2025, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) together with the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry sealed off three mining companies on the island after their activities polluted surrounding waters.

This sealing off was widely reported, complete with statements by officials that there would be no compromise over environmental violations. But like many similar cases, law enforcement on Citlim never went beyond the symbolic stage. Once the story faded from the media, nothing more was heard about efforts to investigate the people behind the mine, the officials who protected them or the investors who made a profit.

Citlim Island meets the criteria of a small island that should be protected. Law No. 1/2014 clearly bans mining on islands with an area of less than 2,000 square kilometers, unless almost impossible conditions are met: no environmental damage and no negative impact on local people. However, the facts on the ground show exactly the opposite – almost all mines in coastal areas damage ecosystems and deprive local people of their livelihoods.

Ironically, not all mines on small islands are operating illegally. According to the KPK, hundreds of mining permits were issued by the Energy and Natural Mineral Resources Ministry, as well as the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry for almost 500 small and very small islands.

Most of these permits were issued without proper oversight. At least 218 mining permits do not have environmental approval documentation, while dozens of companies have failed to pay non-tax revenues to the state, resulting in potential losses exceeding Rp165 billion since 2018.

This data shows an extraordinary contradiction. On the one hand, the government is closing mines by sealing them off in a way that attracts public attention. On the other side, they are providing a legal basis for these violations through the issuing of official permits. This contradiction means that the law has become simply a means of projecting a good image, rather than an instrument of correction.

In the end, the sealing of mines on Citlim and in other locations is simply a legalistic ritual – a performance organized to show that the state is functioning. A symbol of resolute action is on display, but the roots of the problem remain untouched: corrupt management of permits, political rent seeking and a legacy of ecological damage. And even the law has turned into a drama that is repeated over and over again; the authorities and officials appear to be carrying out their respective duties, but substantive justice is absent from the stage.

It is time the enforcement of our environmental laws left the stage. The government must have the courage to revoke mining permits on small islands that violate regulations, demand that investors and those granting permits take responsibility, and restore damaged ecosystems. This is the only way that law enforcement can cease to be simply an image building exercise.

– Read the complete story in Tempo English Magazine

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2063680/the-small-island-mine-sealing-performanc