Four Indonesian islanders take on Swiss cement giant Holcim
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Four Indonesian islanders take on Swiss cement giant Holcim
Four residents of the small Indonesian island of Pulau Pari have vowed to fight one of the most climate-damaging industries: cement. Their fight has made headlines around the world. In this report, we meet them on their threatened home island.
From Jakarta, it takes an hour by boat and then a five-minute walk to reach the modest guesthouse in the centre of Pulau Pari, a tiny island whose name has become known around the world.
Once there, the visitor’s eye is immediately drawn to numerous posters calling to “save the island”. Standing at the stove frying bananas is Ibu Asmania, manager of the guesthouse. She is also behind the first climate complaint filed in Switzerland against cement manufacturer Holcim.
On this Wednesday morning in October, the guesthouse terrace is crowded. A journalist and cameraman from an Indonesian television channel and two representatives from a local NGO have also made the trip. “We’ve come to tell the same story,” says the young journalist enthusiastically.
The presence of the media – including from abroad – no longer surprises anyone on this paradise island of 1,500 inhabitants. The case pitting four members of this community against Zug-based cement giant Holcim is historic. It could pave the way for similar proceedings in Switzerland and elsewhere.
Pulau Pari, which lies some 40 kilometres northwest of the Indonesian capital, is on the front line of global warming, like many small islands around the world. Its population suffers daily from the negative impact of rising sea levels, degradation of the marine ecosystem, and increasingly unpredictable weather.
Yet the island’s inhabitants, who live mainly from fishing and tourism, have contributed very little to the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for these changes.
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“Climate change is affecting us very badly,” Asmania says. “But we have always taken care of our island. We are suffering the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions from multinationals like Holcim. It’s unfair.”
That is why she and three other residents decided to travel to Switzerland to file a civil lawsuit against Holcim, which they believe bears co-responsibility for the climate crisis. They are demanding that the cement manufacturer compensate them for damage suffered and contribute to protective measures, for a total of CHF14,700 ($18,200). They are also calling on the company to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions.
In 2023 Ibu Asmania, Mustaghfirin, Arif Pujianto and Edi Mulyono filed a civil lawsuit against Holcim in the Zug District Court for “personal injury” due to its contribution to climate change.
They are demanding compensation from the Zug-based cement manufacturer for damage caused by global warming, its participation in flood protection measures and a reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions. This represents CHF3,600 per person, or CHF14,700 in total.
The stakes are high. This is the first time that foreign nationals have brought civil proceedings against a Swiss company for its role in climate change. The case could set a precedent for similar cases in Switzerland and around the world.
In September, two of the plaintiffs took part in a preliminary hearing at the Zug court, which must assess the admissibility of the complaint. The decision of the three judges, which will not cover the substance of the matter, is expected shortly.
The plaintiffs initially filed a conciliation request with a Justice of the Peace in canton Zug. But this failed, as Holcim refused to pay the indemnity. According to the Climate Accountability Institute, Holcim, which is one of the biggest cement manufacturers worldwide, is among the 180 companies that have generated the most CO2External link since the pre-industrial age.
Holcim declines to comment directly on the ongoing legal procedure, but it says deciding who can emit CO2 and in what quantity is “a matter for the legislative authorities and not a civil court”. The company considers that filing legal actions against individual firms is not an efficient way to deal with the global complexity of climate change.
Seaweed farming no longer possible
Once breakfast has been cleared away, Asmania, 42, leads us into her living room, where only the hum of an air-conditioner breaks the calm. On the bookshelf are framed photos of her visit to Switzerland, showing her in front of the federal parliament building in Bern with several parliamentarians supportive of her struggle.
A month after coming back, this mother of three doesn’t hide her concern while “waiting impatiently” for news from the Zug court.
Unlike the other plaintiffs, Asmania did not grow up on Pulau Pari but in the town of Bekasi, east of Jakarta. That does not stop her regretting how much the place has changed in recent years. “When I came here, it was an island of fishermen,” she says. She moved here with her husband, Tono, whom she married in 2005.
At the time, Pulau Pari was known for its farming of seaweed, which was exported internationally and was an important source of income for the population. Once processed, this seaweed was used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. But seaweed farming is no longer possible on the island.
“The seaweed used to be of really good quality,” she recalls. “Now it is all bleached because of the rising temperature of the sea, and it dies after a week.” Like others, Asmania was forced ten years ago to turn to tourism instead.
Holcim has for a long time been the world’s biggest manufacturer of cement, a sector which is the second-biggest producer of CO2 after fossil fuels. Several fossil fuel companies are already subject to complaints and climate action, so the inhabitants of Pulau Pari decided to take action against Holcim, which operated in Indonesia up to 2019.
Difficult lives for fishermen
In the evening we meet Mustaghfirin, whom everyone calls Bobby, on the guesthouse terrace, where several of the plaintiffs gather daily with friends and family. The 53-year-old fisherman and spiritual leader with long grey hair framing his face has had a long day marked by prayers and trips out to sea. He also remembers better days. “With climate change, our daily lives as fishermen are not at all the same,” he says.
Bobby, born on Pulau Pari, says the size of catches has shrunk, particularly in shallower water. To catch the same quantities as 20 years ago, the fishermen must go far out – sometimes dozens of kilometres – which makes their work more dangerous.
“We’re often caught out by bad weather,” he says. Four years ago it almost cost him his life. A big wave broke his boat in two and he was thrown into the sea. Fortunately a colleague was nearby and managed to rescue him.
Sitting cross-legged on a bench, Bobby tells this story with big gestures imitating swimming desperately in the storm. He and those around him now laugh about it, but it could have been disastrous. “I’ve nearly drowned twice since then,” he says. “And others too. Our instincts are outgunned by the speed at which the wind changes.”
Despite the challenges and his family worrying about him, Bobby can’t imagine being anything other than a fisherman. “We have total freedom,” he says. “When you’ve experienced that, you can’t do anything else. And if everyone worked in an office or on a building site, who would put fish on the table?”
Tourism as an alternative
Like Asmania with her guesthouse, many locals have turned their focus from the sea to tourism, to which Pulau Pari opened up in 2010. But the future of tourism is also under threat, because of beach erosion, driven by stronger tides than before.
Standing on the shoreline, Arif Pujianto’s keen eyes survey “his beach”, an idyllic strip of white sand at the western end of the island, which he cares for alongside his job as a mechanic. “The sea has advanced nine metres in five years,” he says with bitterness.
Pulau Pari has lost some 10% of its surface area in the past decade and could disappear underwater by 2050, according to NGOs. “Sometimes when I’m beach cleaning, I think back to how this place used to be, to its former beauty,” Pujianto says. “Fortunately visitors still want to come, even if the beach is damaged.”
At weekends, this small island is host to some 2,000 visitors, mainly Indonesians from Jakarta eager to escape the urban jungle. During major holidays, their number can reach 10,000 in a week, according to the beach guard.
In recent years, the tide has also been threatening homes. Among them is Pujianto’s house, about 30 metres from the shore. Last year, sea water flooded the house, causing significant damage to the furniture, walls and foundations.
To combat coastal erosion and flooding, the island’s inhabitants have built small dykes and started planting mangroves, thanks in part to financial support from tourists. But further efforts are needed, and the plaintiffs are asking Holcim to contribute.
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What does the future hold?
Islanders are optimistic. The plaintiffs are supported by much of the local population, as evidenced by the numerous flags scattered across island rooftops calling for “climate justice”.
In Pulau Pari, everyone wants to believe that the Swiss courts will rule in their favour. They are also aware that their case could serve as an example for inhabitants of other small islands threatened by climate change.
According to the World Bank, some 48 million people in East Asia and the Pacific, a region that includes Indonesia, could be forced to leave their homes by 2050 due to climate disasters.
“What worries me most is my children’s future,” says the fourth plaintiff, Edi Mulyono. Sitting on a bench near the fishing port with a cigarette between his lips, he looks over at his five-year-old son, playing on the small sea wall that is supposed to protect the surrounding houses, including that of his family. “If we lose our fight, then my children and grandchildren will no longer be able to live on Pulau Pari.”
Edited by Virginie Mangin. Translated from French by Julia Crawford/ts
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