A sand dredger depositing sand. Image from Flickr. Creative Commons license CC BY-ND 2.0

For over 20 years, Indonesia has banned the export of sea sand in an effort to preserve marine ecosystems and protect the livelihoods of coastal communities. However, Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan announced that as of October 8, two new regulations would go into effect that effectively lift the ban and allow sea sand dredging. While some developers and investors are perking up at the economic potential, the policy flop has drawn ire from coastal residents, experts, and environmental activists. 

Sand is an incredibly in-demand building material and is second only to water as the world’s most extracted material, making it an extremely lucrative international export — particularly for countries building artificial islands or attempting land reclamation projects. 

Indonesia’s primary consumer will likely be Singapore, a major sand importer that has invested heavily in land reclamation projects since the 1960s and has increased its territory by more than 25 percent in the process.

Singapore’s territory in the 1960s versus 2017. Image from YouTube.

Indonesia began exporting sand to Singapore in the 1970s, primarily from the country’s Riau Island chain. Numerous small islands have disappeared over the years because of excessive extraction, which is one of the factors that led then-President Megawati Soekarnoputri to implement a ban in 2003, as activists said the practice was harming local fishing communities and devastating the environment. 

However, the demand for sand — especially for construction in rapidly urbanizing Southeast Asian countries — has created a significant black market for sea sand. One 2014 report estimated that 600 million tonnes of sand were being illegally smuggled out of Indonesia each year, resulting in the loss of islands and threats against whistleblowers. Some protestors have even been arrested for pushing back against the mining.

Spurred on by overdevelopment, the sand industry seems to only be expanding, and Indonesian policymakers want to get back in the game.

Economic implications

Indonesia has some of the richest marine resources in the world, and by tapping into the sea sand market, officials hope to significantly boost its GDP — a major boon, considering the country hopes to become a high-income country by 2045. 

As of September 27, 66 companies had already applied for permits to begin extracting sea sand — including companies with ties to current officials and family members of the incoming President Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo, who will take office on October 20.

Herry Tousa, Chairman of the Indonesian Riau Islands Sea Sand Entrepreneurs Association (APPL), supported the reversal and said its members were applying for the permits en masse because companies could sell sand overseas for very high prices, at least twice the domestic market price. This could potentially result in billions of Rupiahs worth of increased revenue per year, though Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance has yet to set a sea sand revenue target for 2025.

As current President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) prepares to step down, some say this decision cements his government’s legacy of prioritizing the economy over the environment. The editorial board of The Jakarta Post penned a scathing critique of the decision, saying the economic benefits will be “minimal, possibly even negligible,” adding:

The only parties to benefit will be the few, highly connected businesses that are already lining up to secure concessions to dredge sand and ship it abroad.

Preliminary reports from researchers support this claim, noting that the economic gains from the sand export will likely be offset by the loss in income from fishers, decreased tourism revenue, and the loss of other marine resources due to seafloor dredging.

Social and environmental concerns

While some of Indonesia’s neighbors are pleased about the lifted restrictions, domestically, the change is less popular. Local activists say the move could come at the expense of Indonesia’s low-lying islands, which are already at risk of being submerged by rising sea levels. Removing sand, which acts as a protective barrier against large storms and typhoons, could accelerate this process and make them more vulnerable to erosion and flooding. They also say the sea sand extraction could disrupt natural currents and sediment flow and decrease water quality.

Indonesia’s Gili Air Island. Many of Indonesia’s over 17,500 islands sit at or just above sea level. Image from Flickr. Creative Commons license CC BY-ND 2.0

Environmental activists and scientists also warn the new policies will have devastating impacts on marine ecosystems. To obtain sea sand, boats dredge the seafloor, leading to marine habitat destruction, the erosion of coastlines, and significant disruption of marine life. Coral reefs, which are crucial for biodiversity and marine health, are particularly vulnerable to such practices.

Local communities have also expressed concern about the potential for increased environmental degradation. Fishermen and coastal residents fear that unregulated sand mining could disrupt fish populations and destroy the delicate balance of their ecosystems. 

One coastal resident of Banuharjo village on Java’s northern coast, Tri Ismuyati, expressed her concerns about the resumption of sand dredging in an interview with the South China Morning Post:

“I am worried that there will be an abrasion, and then our village will sink. My concern is that sea sand mining could cause damage [to the marine ecosystem]. If the sea is destroyed, where else can we get fish? Fishermen here cannot carry out activities other than fishing.”

Among those to speak out against the new policies is former Marine Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, who shared on X (formerly Twitter) that she hopes the policy will be scrapped.

Semoga keputusan ini dibatalkan. Kerugian lingkungan akan jauh lebih besar. Climate change sudah terasakan dan berdampak. Janganlah diperparah dg penambangan pasir laut 🙏🙏🙏🙏 https://t.co/oL4qCQd3bE

— Susi Pudjiastuti (@susipudjiastuti) May 28, 2023

Hopefully, this decision will be revoked. The environmental damage will be far greater. Climate change is already being felt and is having an impact. Let’s not make it worse by mining sea sand 🙏🙏🙏🙏

She added that as Indonesia is facing massive land erosion and worsening flooding (in Jakarta alone, some neighborhoods are sinking at a rate of 11 centimeters a year), the government should prioritize domestic land reclamation rather than export.

In response to the backlash, Jokowi clarified that the policy is primarily meant to clear underwater sediment blocking shipping pathways and insisted it will not be harmful to the environment. However, the state has released no information on how it will identify these extraction points or how it plans to enforce this. Activists also point out that while Jokowi emphasizes extractors should focus on extracting “sediment” rather than sand, it has released no guidance on the difference between the two and why it will be less harmful to the environment.

Parid Ridwanuddin, the coastal and marine manager at Walhi, one of Indonesia’s largest green NGOs, pushed back against Jokowi’s claim.

We at Walhi see this regulation as serving business interests, but it’s dressed in scientific terms. The designer of this regulation cherry-picked everything very well, from its diction and its language politics to the laws, to make it sound like it’s a good policy when it’s really not.

The social ramifications of lifting the sea sand export ban are equally complex. While the government argues that the move will create jobs, there are fears that it could lead to conflicts over resources, particularly in areas where communities are already struggling with land and water rights. Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner Afdillah warns that sand mining will likely exacerbate tensions between local fishing communities and could lead to violent conflict. The potential for increased migration to coastal areas in search of work could also strain local resources and infrastructure.

A fishing village in Batam Island, Indonesia, near Singapore. In many coastal communities, fishing is an essential part of life. Image from Flickr. Creative Commons license CC BY-ND 2.0

The path forward

As one of the most biodiverse countries on earth, Indonesia is constantly forced to balance economic opportunity with environmental concerns. This is especially true considering the archipelago is uniquely vulnerable to pressures related to the climate crisis. 

Prabowo himself has made numerous policy commitments that have concerned environmental activists, including expanding Indonesia’s mining, energy, and plantation sectors.

Once Prabowo takes office this month, his decision to uphold or halt sea sand extraction will give insight into how his government plans to approach environmental issues, which could have longstanding implications for Indonesia and the region.