Civil Society group Auriga Nusantara has called on the government to immediately revoke all mining permits issued on small islands and pursue legal action against companies responsible for ecological damage.

The group was commenting on the government’s recent decision to revoke a forest area utilization permit previously granted to nickel mining company PT Gema Kreasi Perdana (PT GKP), marking a landmark legal and environmental victory for residents of Wawonii Island, Southeast Sulawesi.

On June 16, the Ministry of Forestry issued Decree No. 264/2025, which nullifies the 2014 permit that allowed PT GKP, a subsidiary of Harita Group, to operate within 707.10 hectares of designated production forest on the island. The decision follows a Supreme Court ruling that deemed the original decree unlawful.

The legal challenge was brought by local residents and culminated in a Supreme Court cassation ruling (Case No. 403 K/TUN/TF/2024) issued on October 7, 2024. The court upheld the Jakarta Administrative Court’s initial decision and instructed the Ministry to revoke the permit.

This latest development adds to a growing list of legal setbacks for PT GKP and underscores growing national scrutiny over mining operations on Indonesia’s small islands. Wawonii, measuring only 715 square kilometers, is legally classified as a small island under the Coastal and Small Islands Management Law (PWP3K Law), which prohibits mining activity due to ecological vulnerability.

PT GKP had previously attempted to overturn legal obstacles by filing a judicial review with the Constitutional Court, challenging provisions of the PWP3K Law that ban mining on small islands. In its ruling (No. 35/PUU-XXI/2023), the Court rejected the petition in full, citing the inherently fragile nature of small islands and the environmental risks posed by mining.

Auriga Nusantara places total forest loss on the island at 526 hectares over the same timeframe.

“There are 55 nickel mining permits spanning 65,335 hectares on 29 small islands across Indonesia,” Auriga said in a statement on Friday, June 20, 2025, warning of an ongoing threat to the nation’s coastal biodiversity.

The statement follows the recent revocation of four nickel mining permits in Raja Ampat, West Papua, covering 5,818 hectares.

Environmental activists argue that the Wawonii case should serve as a precedence for national policy reform and stricter enforcement of laws designed to protect small island ecosystems from extractive industries.