Sulawesi’s Ecological Limits Breached as Mining Permits Surge, Study Finds
A Celios study says Sulawesi has exceeded its ecological capacity, with a flood of mining permits and expanding extractive activities driving severe environmental and health impacts.
The Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) released a report indicating that Sulawesi has surpassed its environmental carrying capacity, earning a 4.5-out-of-5 rating and an “exceeding limits” label. Over the 2014-2024 period, regional regulators granted 574 new mining permits, with about 60 % approved in the final two years, and allocated roughly one hectare of land to mining every six minutes. Deforestation is driven primarily by mining and oil-palm plantations, while nickel smelters and dedicated power plants dominate Central and Southeast Sulawesi, supplying nearly 10,000 MW of electricity exclusively for industrial zones.
Communities near these hubs experience double the acute respiratory infections and three times the dengue cases of non-industrial areas, yet have fewer health centers and hospitals and fall short of national infrastructure standards. The expansion has also sparked 95 agrarian conflicts affecting over 90,000 residents, leaving many unresolved and resulting in arrests, injuries and one death. Celios urges an overhaul of the D3TLH framework so that an “exceeding limits” designation automatically halts new concessions, forces reviews of existing permits, mandates environmental restoration and ensures public access to ecological data.
Why it matters
The findings highlight how rapid mining expansion is overwhelming Sulawesi’s environment and public health, urging stronger regulatory action.
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