Floods Repeatedly In Sipora Highlight Extractive Licensing On Small Islands

JAKARTA Sipora Island, one of the small island clusters in Mentawai, again experienced severe flooding on Monday, July 14, 2025.

After experiencing moderate rain for 48 hours, Saureinu Village was flooded for the second time in 2025.

This incident only lasted less than a month from the previous flood which submerged villages in Saureinu to a height of 1.5 meters.

The intensity of flooding that multipliers to three times a year shows that Sipora is a small island that is vulnerable to the climate crisis and is experiencing the impact of extreme weather and seasonal shifts. Coupled with the presence of new threats that have the potential to change the landscape of Sipora Island." said Bioenergy Trend Asia campaigner Amalya Reza.

The threat to the landscape of Sipora Island cannot be separated from the Industrial Plant Forest (HTI) concession given to PT Sumber Permata Sipora (SPS).

The PT SPS license covers an area of 20,706 hectares for the use of wood forest products and 200 hectares for environmental services.

The concession area covers about a third of the total area of Sipora Island, which is only 61,518 hectares, placing it in the category of small islands.

There are 17 Watersheds (DAS) that are included in the concession, with 6 watersheds of which more than 50 percent are in the concession area. This has the potential to change the flow of the river and its surrounding cover.

Coupled with the characteristics of watersheds on small islands that tend to be short, this increases the chances of flooding becoming more frequent.

"The permit of PT SPS has the potential to deforestation 20,143 hectares of natural forests, or the equivalent of 97 percent of the concession area. The potential for changes in the landscape with the presence of concessions will increase the possibility of increasing the intensity of flooding. That way, adding to the vulnerability of the small islands and the people who live in them, "added Amalya.

The presence of PT SPS on Sipora Island is very inconsistent with the spirit of the Coastal and Small Island Area Management Act (UU PPK).

Although the Kayu Forest Product Utilization Permit (PBPH) is not explicitly prohibited on small islands such as mineral mines, the potential for damage to the water system on small islands violates Article 23 of the PPK Law which mandates the use based on a comprehensive and integrated ecological and economical unit.

Currently, the Environmental Impact Analysis (ANDAL) proposed by PT SPS is still in the process of obtaining approval for the release of rights from eight villages that are included in the concession, and the DAL is included in the high risk category.

LBH Padang also found indications of fraudulent modes in licensing: manipulation of land use data in AMDAL documents, absence of valid public consultation processes and participation with affected communities, as well as signatures of alleged approval obtained without complete information and outside applicable procedures.

Licensing of PT SPS in Sipora shows the suspicion of neglecting the principle of meaningful participation and recognition of customary rights. Residents are not given complete information and traditional tenurial systems are ignored. On small islands such as Sipora, this not only triggers agrarian conflicts, but also increases the risk of ecological disasters," explained the Director of LBH Padang Diki Rafiqi.

Some residents from villages in the concession area admitted that they had never been involved in the process of drafting environmental documents, and did not even know about the existence of the PT SPS project.

It was also found that the mode of approval for the release of rights was through a request for signature from representatives of each village, which had been carried out in 8 villages. However, this method contradicts the tenural system of several villages that use the community's communal ownership system.

LBH Padang also found that mapping the boundaries of customary areas was not used as the main reference in the licensing process, so there was an overlap between the concession area and the customary land of the Mentawai indigenous people.

Similar exploitation did not only occur in Sipora, but also in other islands in Mentawai. In North and South Pagai, PT Minas Pagai Lumber PBPH controls almost all areas of the two islands.

Meanwhile, on Siberut Island, which is included in the large island category, almost half of its territory is controlled by PBPH permit from PT Sakaki Suma Sejahtera, PT Biomas Andalan Energi, and most recently still takes care of permits, PT Landarmil Putra Wijaya.

In fact, the entire Mentawai Islands itself, based on Inarisk BNPB data, is an area with a high vulnerability to disasters, with 69 percent of the total population having been affected by extreme weather.

Analysis of Trend Asia also found that coastal areas and watersheds in the Sipora Islands have high flood vulnerability.

The government must immediately stop the issuance of extractive industry permits on small islands and carry out a thorough evaluation of existing permits. The voice of indigenous people should not be ignored, considering protecting the ecosystem and the sustainability of their vulnerable lives," concluded Trend Asia Bioenergy Campaign Officer Amalya Reza.