Meninjau Proyek Solwara 1: Sebuah Refleksi Bagi Indonesia dalam Pengembangan Deep Seabed Mining

Abstract

The Solwara 1 project is the world’s first seafloor mining initiative aimed at exploiting Seafloor Massive Sulfides (SMS) in waters offshore Papua New Guinea. The project poses significant challenges regarding the application of the precautionary principle, given the not yet fully understood potential environmental impacts on sensitive deep-sea ecosystems. This article examines the Solwara 1 project to provide important insights for Indonesia in the development of seabed mining by demonstrating how the application of the precautionary principle in the project encompasses a range of mitigation measures and rigorous risk management strategies. However, it also identifies challenges in implementing this principle, particularly related to the limited scientific data on the target ecosystem and the uncertainty surrounding long-term impacts. Additionally, local stakeholder engagement and transparency in decision-making require improvement to ensure the project’s equity and sustainability. For Indonesia, the implications of these findings underscore the importance of the precautionary principle and the development of more sophisticated regulations and technologies to support responsible and sustainable seabed mining.