Since the early 2020s, North Maluku Province has become the nexus for Indonesian government nickel mining and downstreaming ambition. This had a tremendous effect on North Maluku Province’s economy; at least on paper, the economy managed to consistently score double digit growth since 2021. In 2022 and 2023, amidst the COVID-19 slump, it managed to achieve more than 20% growth. However, as stated before, these achievements looked good on paper, but its overreliance on the nickel mining and processing industry serves as an economic and environmental time bomb for North Maluku.
Nickel is a finite resource, a commodity whose demands and prices are determined by the whims of the global market. After nickel, the fate of North Maluku’s economy is uncertain. If left by itself, the nickel industry in North Maluku would soon dry up and leave a permanently ruined environment behind. Furthermore, the RPJPN 2025–2045 had envisioned a more sustainable economic growth at the provincial and regency level, giving more reason for the development of a more sustainable economy.
To achieve a more sustainable economy that does not rely on extractive sectors, North Maluku could use economic diversification on non-mining commodities. In this report CELIOS had explored several potential sectors for economic diversification that could yield a substantial economic boon while still being sustainable in the long run. By focusing on the agricultural and fisheries sectors, coupled with thorough investment in renewable energy, CELIOS report had found that the combined economic diversification effort could add IDR 76 trillion to North Maluku’s economy for 20 years. At the same time, the diversification program also adds 1.8 million jobs and generates an extra IDR 28 trillion of wages, all in the same timespan.
This means an additional 2.96% economic growth for North Maluku annually for 20 years, on top of the already existing base economic growth. Although this number might seem small compared to what the nickel industry had achieved, the diversification efforts would lead to a more sustainable economy. Unlike the nickel-driven economy, this type of economy does not need to sacrifice the environment for the sake of short-term economic growth, as it could sustain North Maluku for a long–perhaps indefinite–time.
