Jakarta—In a press statement on Monday, February 24, academics and environmental activists said the revision of Law No. 4/2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining (Minerba Law) threatens academic freedom, damages universities’ scientific objectivity, and hampers the transition to more sustainable energy sources.
Several articles in the new Mining Law allow universities to receive direct benefits from cooperation with mining companies. This risks silencing academic criticism of the mining industry and directing research in a direction that benefits business interests alone.
“This change is dangerous because universities, which should be independent and critical research centres, have the potential to be controlled by extractive industry interests,” said Sartika Nur Shalati, Policy Strategist from CERAH.
Articles 51A and 60A paragraph 1 in the revised Minerba Law states that the government will grant Mining Business License Areas (WIUP) on a priority basis to State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Regional-Owned Enterprises (BUMD), or private companies for the benefit of universities. Although universities cannot directly own mining licenses, paragraph 3 of the article states that a portion of the profits from mining exploitation will be given to universities following a cooperation agreement.
“This condition is very worrying because many universities are experiencing operational budget cuts. Dependence on mining industry funds can steer research and academic policies in a direction that benefits mining companies, not the public interest and the environment,” Sartika added.
Threat to energy transition
In addition to threatening academic freedom, the new Mining Law is considered a serious obstacle to Indonesia’s energy transition towards more sustainable resources. With the dominance of coal mining companies in cooperation with universities, research and development of renewable energy could be marginalised.
“If universities depend on funding from the mining industry, it will be difficult for them to develop renewable energy-related research independently. This could slow down Indonesia’s efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels,” Sartika said.
Herdiansyah Hamzah, a lecturer at Mulawarman University and a member of the Working Committee of the Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom (KIKA), highlighted two main motives behind this regulation change.
“First, this regulation is a trade-off between the government and DPR with universities. Campuses are used as beneficiaries so as not to criticise mining policies. Second, universities are forced to become a legitimisation tool for the extractive industry so that it seems as if the mining industry is beneficial and not problematic,” he said.
Back to the era of mining exploitation?
In addition to its impact on academics and energy transition, the National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, Aryanto Nugroho, assessed that revising the Minerba Law could potentially restore the practice of uncontrolled mining exploitation. This is mainly related to the article prioritising granting WIUP to cooperatives and MSMEs.
According to Aryanto, the auction mechanism for granting mining licenses was previously created to ensure mining companies met technical, financial, and environmental requirements. However, with this revision, Indonesia risks experiencing another surge in mining licenses without strict supervision.
“The government and DPR do not seem to have learned from the bad mining management experience a decade ago. Thousands of mining licenses were granted without fulfilling environmental and financial obligations, such as taxes, royalties and reclamation guarantees. Now, with the prioritisation of cooperatives and MSMEs, we could return to the days of massive mining exploitation without adequate supervision,” said Aryanto.
Furthermore, Aryanto added that until now, the public has not known the progress of establishing the Directorate General of Gakkum at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, which is expected to improve the supervision of mining activities.
“Without a clear and strict supervision mechanism, the new Minerba Law will only exacerbate environmental problems, hamper the energy transition, and injure academic independence, which should be at the forefront of public policy monitoring,” he concluded. (Hartatik)
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