Reiner Brabar, Jayapura – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) says that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian government and Freeport McMoRan Inc to extend its mining contract until 2061, which was signed in the US on Wednesday February 18, has the potential to prolong the ecological crisis and suffering for indigenous peoples.
WALHI National Executive Director Boy Jerry Even Sembiring stated that the policy just continues extractive economic practices without ensuring environmental restoration and fulfillment of the rights of the Papuan indigenous people.
The ambition to increase investment through extending PT Freeport Indonesia's (PTFI) operations and downstream plans, he said, is not comparable with the risk of an ongoing ecological and humanitarian crisis in the land of Papua.
"This MoU not only extends the operating time, but also eliminates space for efforts to restore the Papuan ecosystem which has been damaged for more than 50 years. The state has actually become a facilitator of ecological disasters that threaten the sustainability of the environment and the lives of the Papuan indigenous people", said Sembiring in an official statement on Monday February 23.
Walhi believes that the MoU process which will be the basis for adjustments to Freeport's special mining business permit (IUPK) was conducted behind closed doors and without meaningful participation by indigenous communities or indigenous Papuans (OAP). The government is seen as siding more with the interests of investment and mining companies, rather than protecting the environment and the rights of local communities.
"Papua has again been positioned as an object of exploitation. The government seems to be the spokesperson for investment, not part of a Papua which sides with indigenous peoples and the environment which have long been victims", asserted Sembiring.
Walhi Papua Regional Executive Director Maikel Primus Peuki says that the agreement to extend PT Freeport Indonesia's mining operations in Central Papua shows the continuation of the government's longstanding practice of not involving indigenous communities who own customary rights.
According to Peuki, without the participation of indigenous communities, the mining extension policy reflects the state's bad faith because it prioritises economic interests over protecting the rights of indigenous Papuan communities.
"This clearly shows the government's efforts to continue the government's practice of not involving customary land ownership communities. Without the participation of indigenous communities, the policy of extending Freeport's mining operations shows the state's bad faith", he said.
On February 22 in the US, President Prabowo Subianto together with global mining company Freeport-McMoRan Inc. announced an agreement to extend mining operating rights in the Grassberg mining area in Central Papua.
The agreement, said Peuki, is a "red carpet" for Freeport's continued operations until the end of the life of the mine reserves (life of resource).
Thus, Walhi Papua believes that this move further confirms the government's bias towards mining investment and ignoring the rights of indigenous peoples and environmental protection in the land of Papua.
"This agreement is a red carpet for the continuation of PT Freeport Indonesia's operations until the end of the life of its mining reserves. The state is again placing Papua as an object of exploitation, not a living space for indigenous peoples", said Peuki.
Environmental and social damage
According to Walhi's records, Freeport's mining activities have triggered serious environmental damage and prolonged social impacts on indigenous communities, especially the Amungme and Kamoro tribes. These impacts include river pollution due to tailings disposal, increased acid mine drainage, deforestation and the loss of traditional routes for coastal communities.
Over the period 2019-2025, Walhi recorded the discharge of around 200,000 tons of tailings per day into rivers such as the Aghawagon and Otomona, which increased copper levels in the estuary to 0.5 mg/L or almost 40 times above the safe threshold.
Acid mine drainage reportedly lowered the pH of the water to 3.5, while deforestation reached around 22,000 hectares and sedimentation in the Ajkwa estuary disrupted the ecosystem and living space of the Kamoro people.
Entering 2023, Freeport's operations are said to have produced around 2.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year. The risk of landslides has increased by 15-20 percent and this is said to have been proven by the wet material incident at the Grasberg Block Cave in September 2025.
The impact on society is also considered to be increasingly severe, for example the fish catch of the Amungme and Kamoro communities was reported to have fallen by up to 60 percent due to pollution, while cases of acute respiratory infections in Mimika increased by around 12 percent in the same period.
Therefore, Walhi emphasised that extending Freeport's operations until the reserve's lifetime would lock Papua in a new cycle of destruction and deepen the ecological crisis and social injustice.
Walhi is therefore urging the government to stop the extension policy and prioritise environmental restoration and fulfilling the rights of indigenous peoples.
"Without policy changes, Papua will only continue to be an extractive territory, not a just and sustainable living space for its people", said Sembiring.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has confirmed that Prabowo and US President Donald Trump signed a strategic cooperation document titled "Implementation of the Agreement toward the New Golden Age for the US-Indonesia Alliance". This document is the umbrella for the new Indonesia-US partnership, including the in critical minerals sector.
Hartarto also announced that the Indonesian government and US mining company Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has agreed to extend the IUPK in the Grasberg area for Freeport Indonesia until 2061.
"There is critical mineral development. In this case it is the extension of Freeport-McMoRan from 2041 to 2061", said Hartarto during an online press conference on Friday February 20 as reported by Tempo.co.
Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Rosan Roeslani added that the contract extension was agreed upon through the signing of a MoU between the Indonesian government and Freeport on Thursday February 19.
According to Roeslani, the investment value for extending mining operations over the next 20 years will reach around US$20 billion or the equivalent of 337 trillion rupiah. The government believes this investment will have a positive impact on state revenues, including taxes and mineral downstreaming.
"Therefore, this will of course be followed up so that it will become a definitive agreement in the not too distant future", said Roeslani.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "WALHI: Perpanjangan Kontrak Freeport Menambah Krisis Kemanusiaan di Tanah Papua".]
