Missing Ecocentrism in Indonesian Mining Law: Social and Environmental Justice Challenges in Development Governance

Abstract

Indonesia's resource-rich mining industry is mercilessly despoiling its environment due to a glaring absence of ecocentric safeguards. Inadequate spatial planning compounds this calamity. Scholars uncover a litany of environmental horrors – deforestation, marine pollution, waste crises, ownership disputes, and human rights violations. Indonesia's commitment to the 1972 Stockholm Declaration clashes with legislative chasms, especially in Mining Business Area (WIUP) regulation. The Omnibus Law's 2020 arrival ignites a fierce battle: ecology vs. profit. Deregulation unleashes rampant mining, imperiling habitats, soil, water, and biodiversity. Balancing growth and nature tests Indonesia's mettle. Crucially, academic research is essential for policy alignment. A shift toward ecocentrism is urged, with spatial planning preceding WIUP issuance to quell legal conflicts. Conflicts stemming from investments, evictions, and land seizures surge, affecting countless lives and vast land areas. Fostering social and environmental justice in Indonesia hinges on confronting these dire challenges. The study deploys a dual approach: conceptual research methodology develops and reinterprets ecocentrism theories, with a focus on Article 172B of Indonesian Law No. 3 of 2020, guided by legal experts in administrative, mining, spatial planning, and environmental law.