With its crystal-clear waters and picturesque islands, Raja Ampat — often described as "the last paradise on Earth" — has long been a dream destination for tourists.
But this archipelago off Indonesia's east coast has emerged as the latest battleground between groups at odds over the country's nickel industry.
For Indigenous Papuan man Matias Mambraku, Raja Ampat, or the "Four Kings", is more than just a paradise.
"It's so important not only because of its beauty, but [because] it provides us a livelihood," Mr Mambraku told the ABC.
"Many of us here are fishermen, so we really depend on the water, it can fulfil our everyday needs."
The archipelago of 1,500 islands, cays and atolls are a UNESCO Global Geopark because of the historic limestone karst rock formations that jut out of the sea.
The area is also home to some of the most diverse marine life on earth, said Australian conservationist Lynn Lawrence.
With the organisation that she founded with her husband, The Sea People, Ms Lawrence has been trying to restore and protect Raja Ampat for more than a decade.
She said over 75 per cent of the world's known hard-coral species, 1,800 reef fish and five endangered turtle species are among the significant sea life here.
"In remote villages the reef is the supermarket, the bank, and the primary source of protein, with reef fish, shellfish forming the backbone of daily nutrition," Ms Lawrence said.
However, conservationists said the archipelago's delicate ecosystem is being sacrificed to support Indonesia's burgeoning renewable energy industry.
Indonesia is the biggest refiner of nickel in the world.
Over the past decade the rapid expansion of the industry — to support the electric vehicle and green energy transition — has created opportunities for some while leaving others struggling to get by.
Ms Lawrence does not agree with calling Raja Ampat "the last paradise" on earth.
"Raja Ampat doesn't need to be admired for what it still has; it needs to be protected for what it still gives," she said.
"Raja Ampat could be considered as paradise, but it's a paradise that needs allies, not just admirers."
#SaveRajaAmpat
Greenpeace Indonesia has been campaigning to protect Raja Ampat and released an investigation into nickel mining in the area earlier this month.
The report revealed nickel mines are responsible for least 550 hectares of deforestation across three islands: Manuran Island, Gag Island, and Kawe Island.
"Forests have been destroyed, and rainwater runoff now carries sediment from the cleared areas," Greenpeace said in its report.
"This is causing reef-smothering elevated turbidity in the sea, evident as discolouration of water near jetties and mines."
Shortly before the Greenpeace research was released, the Indonesian government revoked four of the five active licences within the UNESCO geopark.
The government's decision came after a national outcry over nickel mining in Raja Ampat, and in response to a popular social media campaign, "#SaveRajaAmpat".
Indonesia's mines minster, Bahlil Lahadila, said at the time the decision to revoke the mining permits was due to "environmental violations" within the UNESCO geopark.
The one remaining permit not revoked by the government is on Gag Island.
It's held by Gag Nickel, a subsidiary of the Indonesian state-owned mining company Aneka Tambang, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Arie Rompas from Greenpeace Indonesia urged the government to revoke the Gag Nickel permit.
"There must be a formal decision to ensure that the revocation is actually carried out," Mr Rompas told ABC.
He warned the government had reactivated mining permits it had revoked in the past.
The ABC contacted Gag Nickel, Aneka Tambang and multiple Indonesian government ministries but did not receive a response.
Gag Island is about 43 kilometres from Piaynemo — a famous cluster of karst formations that feature on an Indonesian bank note.
Global Forest Watch reported that between 2017 and 2024, deforestation caused by nickel mining on Gag Island reached 262 hectares.
Research shows arsenic found in fish, blood
Nickel ore mined on Gag Island is loaded onto barges and transported to be refined at the Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) on Halmahera Island, North Maluku, Greenpeace said.
According to public reports from Aneka Tambang, Gag Nickel's parent company, ore from Gag Nickel is processed by Tsingshan, a large Chinese-run subsidiary operating within IWIP.
IWIP is an integrated mineral industrial complex backed by investment from three huge Chinese companies, which have proliferated since former Indonesian president Joko Widodo first banned the export of unprocessed minerals in 2014.
The ban "ushered in a new era of growth and prosperity for the people of Indonesia," the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce Madam Chairperson, Arsjad Rasjid, told the ABC in 2023.
But a study from Indonesian not-for-profit organisation Nexus3 and Tadulako University on the pollution around IWIP showed alarming results.
Published in May, the study results are based on tests run on water, blood and fish samples taken around Weda Bay in July 2024.
Water samples from the main river which serves as drinking sources had high concentrations of heavy metals, including chromium and nickel, that exceeded safe limits set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).
Blood samples taken from residents living near IWIP recorded the presence of heavy metals like mercury — and arsenic at levels exceeding safe thresholds in 15 people.
Nexus3 principal researcher Yuyun Ismawati said, apart from inhaling pollutants, heavy metals detected in blood came from eating contaminated fish.
The study found that fish caught in Weda Bay contained elevated levels of arsenic and mercury.
Ms Ismawati said the arsenic levels in fish surpassed national safe thresholds and posed a serious risk to people who live in the area and ate them.
"The fish samples were taken at the fish landing site, directly from the fishermen's boats — these are the same fish sold at the market," she said.
"We collected fish from there because that's what local residents consume daily.
Rivani Abdurrajak, head of the local government environmental agency, disputed the findings of the Nexus3 research, local media reported in early June.
Mr Abdurrajak told Kompas the water in Weda Bay was not polluted by nickel mining or processing, and government tests showed levels of heavy metals, including arsenic and mercury, at safe levels.
Ms Ismawati said that the "cocktail of toxic pollutants" around industrial parks like IWIP were difficult to measure.
"Inside these zones, there are various smelters — not just for nickel, but also for aluminium and other metals, even in small quantities, so even if we could take some samples, there are no standard benchmarks to measure these chemical cocktails," she added.
IWIP has been contacted for comment.
'We will continue to survive'
The pollution around IWIP and other major nickel processing parks has acted as a warning to conservations and locals campaigning to defend Raja Ampat from a similar fate.
While Indigenous Papuans in Raja Ampat depend on the sea for their survival, the archipelago holds a greater significance for locals.
"Raja Ampat's value is inseparable from the people who live in, depend on, and actively shape it," Ms Lawrence said.
Mr Mambraku lives in a village near one of the nickel mines which had its permit revoked.
He said he hoped the Indonesian government would ensure that any kind of future activities in Raja Ampat followed environmental safeguards and included Indigenous people in decision making.
"It's so important not only because of its beauty but it provides us livelihood," Mr Mambraku said.
"We survived without mining before, and we will continue to survive as long as we protect our homes."
