Indonesia Urged to Reject Deep-Sea Mining at UN Forum

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia Coalition is urging the government to take a stance in support of a moratorium or outright rejection of deep-sea mining (DSM) activities at the upcoming 31st session of the International Seabed Authority. The global forum, under the auspices of the United Nations, is scheduled to take place in Kingston, Jamaica, from July 29 to 31, 2026.

This demand was formally conveyed through an official letter sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries on Friday, June 19, 2026.

National Coordinator of PWYP Indonesia, Aryanto Nugroho, stated that the approval of the commercial exploitation of deep-sea minerals has the potential to trigger significant and irreparable environmental catastrophe.

"We are conveying our demands and proposed stance as part of a community that foresees the potential threats of massive ecological damage if deep-sea mining is commercially approved during the UN meeting," Aryanto was quoted as saying in a written statement on Saturday, June 20, 2026.

Indonesia currently serves as a member of the ISA Council for the 2023–2026 period. This position places Indonesia among the nations directly steering the negotiations over the regulations governing international seabed mineral exploitation.

At the upcoming ISA meeting, one of the main agendas will be the Mining Code, a regulatory framework that will dictate whether and how seabed mineral extraction can be legally commercialized.

According to Aryanto, the controversy surrounding deep-sea mining is no longer just a global environmental debate, but an issue with direct implications for Indonesia. PWYP, alongside a coalition of civil society organizations, believes that global mining firm The Metals Company (TMC) and its affiliates allegedly plan to utilize Indonesia's supply chains and smelter capacity to process polymetallic nodules harvested from international waters.

"Indonesia is being targeted to become a global processing hub for deep sea ores, which carries the risk of severe waste accumulation in coastal ecosystems," he warned.

PWYP notes that the push to legalize DSM through the Mining Code faces widespread global resistance due to its potential to cause ecological ruin and compromise human rights. A growing body of scientific research also indicates that the impacts of deep-sea mining could be permanent and impossible to remediate.

Citing policy briefs from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Aryanto emphasized that DSM operations risk devastating marine biodiversity and disrupting the fragile seabed sediment layers that act as vital natural carbon sinks. Disturbing these deep-sea sediments could release vast volumes of stored carbon emissions back into the environment.

Furthermore, deep-sea mining operations threaten the health, food security, and livelihoods of coastal communities due to the risk of heavy metal pollution accumulating within regional fishery resources.

Through its letter to the government, PWYP submitted two core recommendations. First, Indonesia is urged to formally declare its support for a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining exploitation, which would make it the first country in Asia to join the international bloc opposing DSM commercialization.

Second, the government is pressed to ensure high-level political representation at the 2026 ISA Council and Assembly sessions to guarantee that the Mining Code is not hastily rushed into ratification.

PWYP also forwarded copies of the letter to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Minister of Environment and Forestry to preemptively block deep-sea mining commodities from entering the domestic refining supply chain.

"In the midst of an escalating climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution, enacting a moratorium on deep-sea mining will be a visionary leadership legacy for future generations," Aryanto concluded.

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