Judul : WALHI Rejects the Geothermal Flores Task Force's Spot Check, Calling the Project Problem-Ridden
link : WALHI Rejects the Geothermal Flores Task Force's Spot Check, Calling the Project Problem-Ridden
WALHI Rejects the Geothermal Flores Task Force's Spot Check, Calling the Project Problem-Ridden
People's Mind - The Indonesian Center for Environmental Justice, East Nusa Tenggara Regional Executive (WALHI NTT), rejects the results of the field test conducted by the task force formed by the East Nusa Tenggara Governor Melkiades Laka Lena to resolve geothermal issues on Flores Island and Lembata. The organization suspects intellectual misconduct by the task force and the government.
This was stated in a press release received by Best for you, responding to the results of field tests presented during the Coordination Meeting (Rakor) on the Report of the Implementation of Field Tests by the Task Force for Resolving Geothermal Power Plant Issues on Flores Island, held on Friday, July 4, 2025, in the Rote-Sabu Room of Harper Hotel, Kupang City.
WALHI sees that the academics involved in the task force appear to act as an extension of the government and parties who want the geothermal project to continue despite massive waves of community rejection in Flores and Lembata.
"WALHI considers that a number of these academics have committed intellectual crimes and insulted science because they are suspected of colluding with parties pushing for this project, which clearly brings disasters—social, cultural, economic, and environmental—and ignores the rights of communities who become victims," wrote WALHI NTT.
Fake Task Force
WALHI strongly questions the integrity of academics in that task force team. It even openly states that the task force formed by the top official in NTT is illegitimate and suspects it has already been funded by the government.
"The task force for resolving geothermal issues on Flores Island and Lembata, established by Governor Melkiades Laka Lena, is a fake team, and the spot checks they conducted were merely a farce. The task force, composed of academics who from the beginning were suspected to be funded by the government and project implementers to support the project's implementation (geothermal power)," wrote WALHI.
The problem, according to WALHI's findings, is that during the field verification process, the task force did not take a comprehensive approach. They only met with certain parties.
"During the field visit, the task force only met with landowners and pro groups without seeking information or opinions from opposing parties and other communities in the geothermal project area who are also affected by the geothermal project," wrote WALHI.
No wonder, according to WALHI, the spot-check report from the task force team seems to indicate that there are no significant issues with the geothermal projects in Flores and Lembata.
Actually, geothermal energy in Flores and Lembata is fraught with problems.
Moreover, from the beginning, the implementation of the project did not involve independent institutions or NGOs and environmental advocates who have been seriously addressing geothermal issues on both Flores Island and Lembata.
Series of Issues Found by WALHI
WALHI NTT has identified a number of issues in the field related to the geothermal project in NTT, including social, economic, and health aspects.
Social and economic problems, for example families that are no longer harmonious. The community has lost their source of income due to damaged land.
"The residents' farmland was damaged, leading them to decide to migrate overseas, while others lost their homes due to hot mud eruptions emerging inside their houses and repeated roof corrosion after geothermal operations began, as occurred in Nage and Mataloko, Ngada Regency. Clean water supplies are also increasingly decreasing," wrote WALHI.
Meanwhile, health issues affecting residents, such as skin and respiratory diseases.
Regarding that situation, WALHI expressed a vote of no confidence in the task force and the results of the field sampling test.
"WALHI expresses a vote of no confidence in several academics involved in the task force team, including Pri Utami, Head of the Geothermal Research Center at Gadjah Mada University's Faculty of Engineering, who has supported the project from the beginning without thoroughly understanding the actual conditions within the community," wrote WALHI.***
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