Indonesia’s rivers and lands and food supply are in danger. This time it isn’t palm oil farmers, but rather coal and mining interests that have taken hold of nearly 20% of the country's rice-growing land, and other areas ripe for growing other crops.
The nation’s produce yields - already affected by climate change - are further impacted by land exploitation as water and land is polluted by chemical runoff. The chemicals leave previously viable lands unsuitable for crops or raising animals and can have serious health repercussions.
What’s worse is that for villagers living near mining areas they have no choice but to use the water contaminated by their un-ecofriendly neighbors. The constant expansion of mining and coal concerns means that the nation’s goal of food self-sufficiency is all but a pipe dream, food costs increase and disadvantage Indonesia's poor. Not to mention the fact that the world doesn’t need more coal which is one of the major contributors to the world’s greenhouse gas output.
Show your support for the people of Indonesia and tell the government to prioritize food over coal. Ask president Joko Widodo to pull back coal and mining concessions and make Indonesia green.
