Mining permits and environmental impact in Southwest Papua
Southwest Papua (capital Sorong) has 4 registered mining permits, mainly limestone, coal. The mapped area opened and affected by mining covers 27 ha. In 2025, 8,459 ha of tree cover was lost. No environmental bulletins have been published for this province yet.
Affected areas cover pollution and physical damage to land, from licensed and unlicensed mining alike.
Permits by commodity
| Commodity | Permits |
|---|---|
| limestone | 1 |
| coal | 1 |
| nickel | 1 |
| stone & sand | 1 |
Source: ESDM MODI / Geoportal ESDM · Updated 24 Oct 2026
Forest loss per year
| Year | ha |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 8,979 |
| 2017 | 6,058 |
| 2018 | 6,286 |
| 2019 | 4,227 |
| 2020 | 4,158 |
| 2021 | 2,585 |
| 2022 | 4,753 |
| 2023 | 6,638 |
| 2024 | 4,616 |
| 2025 | 8,459 |
Source: Hansen/UMD Global Forest Change (v1.13) · Updated 24 Oct 2026
SDG status
No data yet
Permits by status
A WIUP is an area set aside for permits, not yet a permit. A WPR is a zone for small-scale community mining. Only "active" counts as a permit in the key figures.
Source: ESDM MODI / Geoportal ESDM · Updated 24 Oct 2026
More about this province
- About 95.6 % of the land is forest (tree canopy of at least 30 %, year 2000).
- 0 of 6 regencies and cities have 3 or more active permits.
Source: Hansen/UMD Global Forest Change (v1.13) · Updated 24 Oct 2026
Regencies and cities in Southwest Papua
Pick a regency or city to see mining permits and affected areas at local level.
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- Permit holders4 Locked
- Environmental alerts0 Locked
- Impact assessments0 Locked