LOCATION: Indonesia
RELATIONSHIP: Indocement’s subsidiary, PT Sahabat Mulia Sakthi (PT SMS), is the project developer.

IMPACT ON COMMUNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The proposed limestone mine and cement plant would be built on the ancestral territory of the Samin, a local self-identifying Indigenous People, violating their right to self-determination, according to a complaint filed with Germany’s National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct in 2020. The complaint, which was filed by individuals who stand to be impacted by the project, with the support of international NGOs, asserts that Heidelberg Materials and its subsidiaries have not undertaken satisfactory human rights due diligence or meaningful consultation with local communities and have proceeded with the project without the Samin’s free, prior, and informed consent.
The complaint also notes that the company has failed to conduct and/or disclose a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the project. (In response to the complaint, Germany’s National Contact Point recommended that Heidelberg Materials do so.) This is despite the findings of a government study that mining of the Kendeng Mountains would cause serious and irreparable environmental damage to the surrounding ecosystem.
Complainants are particularly concerned that the mine would destroy the karsts of the Kendeng mountains, which are of spiritual significance to the Samin people, and a crucial water source for the agricultural livelihoods of local communities. A 2017 special impact assessment by the Indonesian Presidential Office and Ministry of Environment and Forestry stated that mining in Kendeng would cost local families their means of subsistence through the destruction of these vital water supplies. The report also stated that mining in Kendeng could wipe out bat species that are important pollinators for local farmers.

Indocement’s parent company, Heidelberg Materials AG, has faced intense public pressure to cancel the project, including protests in Germany targeting the company’s Annual General Meetings and a challenge to the legality of its operating license a challenge to the legality of its operating license in Indonesian courts by Indonesian advocates.

IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY

The 2017 special impact assessment by the Indonesian Presidential Office and Ministry of Environment and Forestry found
that mining in the area would have severe impacts on the local ecosystem, including destroying the habitats of rare species of plants and animals. The project also threatens the sensitive local karst system, which helps prevent soil erosion and landslides in the area.

RESOURCES

More information on the project can be found here.