Foreign-backed nickel hub in Indonesia causing mass deforestation - report

Companies have cut down areas of tropical forest equivalent to the size of 6,000 football pitches since 2018. - PHOTO: AFP

JAKARTA (Reuters): Mining activity at a nickel industrial park linked to mainly Chinese companies has contributed to mass deforestation in Indonesia, a non-governmental group said in a report.

The report of ecological damage in the nickel industry comes as Indonesia, home to the world's largest nickel ore reserves, seeks to extract more value from the mineral by attracting investment into its processing and in the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries.