Volvo equipment used in nickel mine displacing Indonesian tribe
Volvo heavy equipment is being used in Indonesian nickel mining that's destroying rainforest and displacing the isolated Hongana Manyawa tribe. The mining has cleared an area equivalent to 8,000 soccer fields, threatening the indigenous community's way of life. The situation highlights the environmental and human costs of the electric vehicle supply chain.
Volvo Construction Equipment has supplied at least 90 heavy vehicles to mining companies operating on the Indonesian island of Halmahera. The equipment is being used for deforestation and nickel mining that is displacing an isolated indigenous community.
An investigation revealed the Swedish manufacturer's dump trucks and excavators are clearing rainforest equivalent to 8,000 soccer fields. The mining operations are forcing the indigenous Hongana Manyawa people from their ancestral lands.
Who are the Hongana Manyawa? They are a hunter-gatherer tribe living in isolation in Halmahera's forests. Survival International describes their situation as critical and demands protection from mining operations.
The tribe faces multiple threats as hunting grounds disappear and waterways become polluted. Their sacred sites are being destroyed by excavation work.
The mining expansion comes amid growing global demand for nickel used in electric vehicle batteries. This creates a difficult reality where green technology depends on practices that harm indigenous communities.
Volvo vehicles reached the mines through authorized dealers. The company now faces questions about its supply chain oversight in environmentally sensitive regions.