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Manganese for Whom? A Review on Manganese Mining Permits towards the Existence of Springs’ Sacred Forest in Manggarai Flores

Forest and Society · Vol. 9 No. 1 (2025) · pp. 70–102

DOI
10.24259/fs.v9i1.34788
ISSN
2549-4333, 2549-4724
Published
2025-03-08
Publisher
Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddin
Language
en
License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Abstract

Amid global efforts to find minerals for renewable energy, social-environmental concerns related to mineral extraction are still ongoing. Various agreements at the global level are calling for the renewable energies market to uphold principles of sustainability throughout the entire supply chain, including raw materials extraction, to protect the integrity and objectives of the industry. Importantly, such action must extend beyond the narrow parameters of environmental management to inclusively consider impacts on community wellbeing as well. This article evaluates concerns around land and spring conversion in manganese mining operations in Manggarai, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara Province, NTT. The study is critical to designing a bridging model of water institutional development at the district level that would help realize the water rights of the villagers toward actual action. The analysis of how water institutions function in villages is an area of study that has not been widely examined in Indonesia, even though water issues are increasingly prominent in many regions. This article seeks to analyze functioning water institutions using institutional critical analysis. We apply spatial analysis to mining operation areas to identify land use contestations between mines and the springs as well as settlements. The analysis integrates in-depth interviews with the officials from three key government institutions related to land uses and the springs. Both the spatial analysis and qualitative data are then analyzed alongside the legal framework of land use and spring used to distill the institutional barriers leading to the issuance of permits in such contexts. The analysis then briefly traces the current political economy of mining’s permits underlying the institutional interactions to better understand why the institutions behave as they do. Ultimately, the study finds that mining operations occur in spaces with common resources of sacred springs and settlements. Even though the overlapping was deemed illegal by state law, causes such as poor institutional authority over spring governance, economic rather than social-based motivations for reviewing permits, and election incentives drive institutional behavior, not simply law. In light of this, the study concludes that springs-related institutions at the district level are at a crossroads regarding whether to protect the springs due to the changes in several laws, including regional government law in 2014. However, the expectation of economic growth, local politics, and global demand for manganese remains a significant underlying influence of allocating permits to manganese mines.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

30 authors · 69 co-authorship links · 27 across different organisations

Hover or tap a name to highlight its co-authors. Double-click to open the author's page.

  • IPB University
  • Universitas Gadjah Mada
  • Tadulako University
  • National Research and Innovation Agency
  • Pakuan University
  • Universitas Sumatera Utara
  • Indonesian Institute of Sciences
  • Other organisations
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
Show as table
Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Bramasto NugrohoIPB University3
Ernan RustiadiAffiliation unknown2
Sudirman Daeng MassiriTadulako University1
Rinekso SoekmadiIPB University1
Oding AffandiUniversitas Sumatera Utara1
Sulistya EkawatiNational Research and Innovation Agency1
Budi BudiIPB University1
Rina MardianaIPB University1
Dodik Ridho NurrochmatIPB University1
‪Handian PurwawangsaIPB University1
Ernan RustiadiIPB University1
Herry YogaswaraIndonesian Institute of Sciences1
Arya Hadi DharmawanIPB University1
Ali Yansyah AbdurrahimNational Research and Innovation Agency1
Meine van NoordwijkWageningen University & Research1
Widodo Budi SantosoUniversitas Gadjah Mada1
Ahmad MaryudiUniversitas Gadjah Mada1
Dwiko Budi PermadiUniversitas Gadjah Mada1
Aprisep Ferdhana KusumaUniversitas Gadjah Mada1
Ema IsmarianaUniversitas Gadjah Mada1
Muhammad Buce SalehIPB University1
Nurwadjedi NurwadjediAffiliation unknown1
Sri Lestari MunajatiAffiliation unknown1
Wahyu HidayatTadulako University1
Marimin MariminIPB University1
Santun R. P. SitorusAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/fs/oai, first harvested 5 Nov 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Manganese for Whom? A Review on Manganese Mining Permits towards the Existence of Springs’ Sacred Forest in Manggarai Flores</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Steni, Bernadinus</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Kartodihardjo , Hariadi</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Adiwibowo , Soeryo</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Djakapermana , Ruchyat Deni</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Sustainability</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Common pool resources</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Institution</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Arena</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Critical Analysis</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Critical mineral</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">Amid global efforts to find minerals for renewable energy, social-environmental concerns related to mineral extraction are still ongoing. Various agreements at the global level are calling for the renewable energies market to uphold principles of sustainability throughout the entire supply chain, including raw materials extraction, to protect the integrity and objectives of the industry. Importantly, such action must extend beyond the narrow parameters of environmental management to inclusively consider impacts on community wellbeing as well. This article evaluates concerns around land and spring conversion in manganese mining operations in Manggarai, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara Province, NTT. The study is critical to designing a bridging model of water institutional development at the district level that would help realize the water rights of the villagers toward actual action. The analysis of how water institutions function in villages is an area of study that has not been widely examined in Indonesia, even though water issues are increasingly prominent in many regions. This article seeks to analyze functioning water institutions using institutional critical analysis. We apply spatial analysis to mining operation areas to identify land use contestations between mines and the springs as well as settlements. The analysis integrates in-depth interviews with the officials from three key government institutions related to land uses and the springs. Both the spatial analysis and qualitative data are then analyzed alongside the legal framework of land use and spring used to distill the institutional barriers leading to the issuance of permits in such contexts. The analysis then briefly traces the current political economy of mining’s permits underlying the institutional interactions to better understand why the institutions behave as they do. Ultimately, the study finds that mining operations occur in spaces with common resources of sacred springs and settlements. Even though the overlapping was deemed illegal by state law, causes such as poor institutional authority over spring governance, economic rather than social-based motivations for reviewing permits, and election incentives drive institutional behavior, not simply law. In light of this, the study concludes that springs-related institutions at the district level are at a crossroads regarding whether to protect the springs due to the changes in several laws, including regional government law in 2014. However, the expectation of economic growth, local politics, and global demand for manganese remains a significant underlying influence of allocating permits to manganese mines.</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddin</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2025-03-08</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/fs/article/view/34788</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.24259/fs.v9i1.34788</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Forest and Society; Vol. 9 No. 1 (2025): JUNE; 70-102</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2549-4333</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2549-4724</dc:source>
	<dc:language>en</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/fs/article/view/34788/12615</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2025 Forest and Society</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>