On 11 April 2025, farmers in Biha Village, Makimi District, Nabire Regency, Papua Tengah Province, raised urgent complaints concerning severe environmental degradation caused by gold mining activities operated by PT Kristalin. Since the commencement of the mining operations, irrigation channels crucial to rice cultivation have become clogged with mud from mining tailings, effectively halting agricultural productivity. Fish farming, another vital livelihood for the local population, has also been gravely impacted due to water contamination. Victims include rice farmers and fish breeders, many of whom now face total crop failure and economic loss.
According to PapedaNews.com, formerly productive irrigation channels are now overwhelmed by silt and mud, rendering them dysfunctional. Rice plants are reportedly withering, turning yellow due to a lack of water, and most harvests have failed. The situation is similarly grim for local fish farmers: previously sustainable harvest cycles of 3–4 months have now extended to over a year, with stunted fish growth, indicating severe water contamination. While PT Kristalin reportedly agreed to clean affected areas, the clean-up efforts were limited to dam structures and excluded essential irrigation channels that supply the fields. Despite repeated appeals to the company, remedial measures have been inadequate, intensifying the community’s distress.
The impact of PT Kristalin’s mining operations extends beyond Biha Village, affecting surrounding areas such as Legari SP 2 and other Legari settlements. Community leaders, including the Head of RW 02 in Dusun 2, have called upon district and provincial authorities to conduct urgent field assessments and enforce corporate accountability. They stress that the loss of agricultural and aquacultural productivity not only jeopardises local food security but also undermines the broader socio-economic fabric of the region.
The gold mining operations violate the right to an adequate standard of living, particularly the right to food and water, as protected under Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The contamination of irrigation and fishery water by extractive industry waste directly impairs access to subsistence resources and threatens the livelihoods of farming communities. Furthermore, the principle of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), often invoked in Indigenous and local community contexts, appears to have been disregarded in the execution of mining activities without effective participation or remedy for the affected communities.
The ongoing lack of response from PT Kristalin underscores the urgent need for state oversight and corporate due diligence, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Local and national authorities must intervene swiftly to uphold the rights of communities whose lives have been disrupted.
