{"id":68629,"date":"2021-04-16T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ekuatorial.com\/?p=68629"},"modified":"2021-09-21T04:08:54","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T21:08:54","slug":"polusi-dan-utang-luar-negeri-ketergantungan-tidak-sehat-indonesia-terhadap-batu-bara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ekuatorial.com\/en\/2021\/04\/polusi-dan-utang-luar-negeri-ketergantungan-tidak-sehat-indonesia-terhadap-batu-bara\/","title":{"rendered":"Pollution and foreign debt: Indonesia\u2019s unhealthy addiction to coal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This story was first published by\u00a0China Dialogue<\/a>\u00a0on 14 April 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, married couple Edi Suriana and Masitah have grown accustomed to the great smokestacks that emit a constant plume of thick smog a few hundred metres from their home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stacks belong to the Suralaya coal plant on the westernmost edge of the Indonesian island of Java. \u201cWe\u2019re used to seeing it there,\u201d says Suriana. \u201cBut the impacts it\u2019s had have made us realize that coal-fired power plants can never be good for us. And there\u2019s no way we can get used to the smell of burning coal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In mid-2019, their young daughter Aqiva Nayla started having difficulty breathing at night and developed what Suriana describes as a \u201cdeep and heavy\u201d cough. After a hospital check-up, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) and put on a six-month course of antibiotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Edi Suriana and Masitah\u2019s three-year-old daughter, Aqiva, was diagnosed with tuberculosis in October 2019, and has since had to visit hospital several times. The couple suspect pollution from the nearby Suralaya coal power plant made her susceptible to the disease. Image: Adi Renaldi<\/a> \/ China Dialogue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Research has linked poor air quality to a higher risk of TB. A 2019 study<\/a> found a \u201cstrong relationship\u201d between the incidence of TB and exposure to ambient air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and nitrogen dioxide \u2013 all common emissions from coal combustion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy daughter had to take those red pills every day for six months,\u201d says Masitah. \u201cI can\u2019t think of any other cause than the pollution from the smokestacks. It will kill us sooner or later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suralaya\u2019s expansion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 4-gigawatt Suralaya coal plant provides energy to Indonesia\u2019s most populous island. It started operating in 1985, built by a consortium of three Chinese corporations and an Indonesian construction company. It cost a total of US$2 billion, with most of the money coming from China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late 2016, Suriana and his fellow villagers heard rumors that the coal plant\u2019s capacity would be increased to 6 gigawatts, making it the largest coal-fired power plant in Southeast Asia and the fourth largest in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2017, a joint venture called PT Indo Raya Tenaga was set up to handle the project by PT Indonesia Power \u2013 a subsidiary of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Indonesia\u2019s state electricity distributor and leading power generator \u2013 and private coal mining giant PT Barito Pacific. The Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) later joined as a partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rumors about the new units were confirmed in the middle of 2017, when land acquisitions started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe knew nothing at first,\u201d remembers Suriana. \u201cBut we soon realized they were building another power plant when they started to demolish houses and level the hills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Husband and wife Edi Suriana (right) and Masitah have lived next to the Suralaya power plant their whole lives. With pollution affecting their daughter\u2019s health, they have joined fellow residents to protest against the plant\u2019s expansion. Image: Adi Renaldi<\/a> \/ China Dialogue
Credit: Adi Rinaldi \/ Chinadialogue<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Having lived next to the Suralaya power plant for decades, many residents felt there was no point protesting its expansion. But others, including Suriana and Masitah, decided it was worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early 2020, Suriana joined dozens of other residents to set up the People\u2019s Forum for the Environment (Formapel). The group has staged protests calling on the government to halt the plant\u2019s expansion. They are concerned about the long-term impacts of the new units and their construction, which has created dust pollution and noise due to the use of explosives to level the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re not against development, explains Suriana. What they want is for the government to ensure Suralaya\u2019s expansion won\u2019t affect their environment or livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No place left to fish<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Suriana is an artisanal fisherman and doesn\u2019t own a boat. He uses nets to catch small fish in shallow waters near the beach. But catches have dwindled over the past few years, and he can no longer make a living from fishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fish have gone due to the building of so much infrastructure,\u201d he explains. \u201cFishermen with boats have suffered too because they have to go further to find fish, making the cost of operating their boats unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suriana says there are now fewer than 50 fishermen left in his village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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