The construction of the industrial park started in 2018. The IWIP project is allegedly in three stages: 1) US$2.5 billion development of ferronickel through pyrometallurgy smelters; 2) US$1.5 billion development of cobalt production in the form of hydroxide; 3) battery production for electric cars [3].  It was reported that the investment made by the Chinese investors are worth approximately 5 billion USD and will continue to grow to 11 billion [3]. The IWIP project requires a land area of 1,000 hectares and will provide space for tenants of ferronickel smelters, ferrochrome smelters, stainless steel plant, coke plant, carbon steel plant, and hydrometallurgical plant [5]. According to the information published by Global Energy Monitor, the total coal-fired power capacity operating or under development at Weda Bay is 3,400 MW (6 x 250 MW + 5 x 380 MW), while the lack of transparency makes it difficult to estimate the exact capacity of CFPP in operation and under development [1], [6].

A number of local and international nickel mining companies operate in the area, including PT Weda Bay Nickel (WBN), owned by Indonesian state-owned company PT Antam Tbk (10%) and Strand Minerals, whose shareholders are Chinese company Tsingshan (57%) and Eramet (43%) [7]. PT WBN was created in 1998 after the Contract of Work had been signed by the Indonesian government and a feasibility study was launched [7]. Previously the shareholders of WBN included Eramet (66.6%), Mitsubishi Corporation (30%) and Pamco (3.4%) [5]. However, the project was on hold for years due to the financial crisis and changes of ownership, until the partnership was forged between Eramet and Tsingshan.

The IWIP and the associated nickel mining and processing activities have significant impacts on the environment, biodiversity, and the indigenous communities in the area [8]–[10]. Back in 2010, Indonesian community and advocacy groups JATAM (Mining Advocacy Network), WALHI, KIARA, and KAU formed an international coalition to oppose the project and the World Bank’s support of WBN [11]. The groups filed a complaint with the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) of the World Bank [11]. Earlier studies indicated that there were significant barriers to access meaningful redress for communities that are remote in the area [2].

Over the years, the Indonesian government has been trying to resettle the indigenous group in the region outside the forest and force them to adopt conventional settled lifestyles instead of their traditional nomadic lifestyle. These people, called the O Hongana Manyawa (also referred to as Tobelo Dalam, which allegedly was against the wishes of the people themselves [11]) and means “forest people” in their indigenous language. They are one of the five last remaining nomadic Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia and categorized as endangered [3], [12] according to Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, AMAN), the main representative organization for Indonesia’s indigenous peoples. According to an interview with Tupa, one of the members of the six remaining tribes that are still practicing the traditional nomadic lifestyle in the forest, “Trees are gone and replaced with the big road, where giant machines go in and out making noise and driving the animals away” [3]. For the few last remaining tribe members in the forest, the forest is not only a place to inhabitat and find sources of food, it is “also a home and ‘the bridge’ that connects them with the spiritual world” [3]. It was also reported that a local resident of Lelilef Sawai Village indicated that she and other mothers were prohibited from fishing in Tanjung Uli, Karkar, and Cacu and from taking firewood [9]. The reclamation of nickel ore storage areas by PT IWIP in the Karkar area also affected local fishing activities that used to take place in the same area [9].

According to the fieldwork and report of Indonesian NGO AEER, the villagers of Lelilef Sawai, Lelilef Waibulan, and Gemaf complained about respiratory problems due to air pollution from the captive coal-fired power plants that use low calorie coal with a calorie content of only 4,200 kcal/kg [9]. Local residents also had restricted access to clean water, with the 3km Ake Sake River dammed and diverted for the construction of one of the IWIP smelters and other rivers such as Seslewe Sini and Kobe polluted [9]. AEER indicated that the increase of logging and the damming and diversion of the Ake Sake River has led to deforestation and reduced water absorption capacity and contributed to the flood that took place in August 2020 which inundated the villages and roads, including the IWIP area [9].

During the inaugural ceremony of the IWIP project in 2018, IWIP claimed that they had obtained community consent and that Akejira nomads, which Tupa belongs to, had agreed to the nickel mining activity in Central Halmahera [3]. This was questioned by Munadi Kilkoda, the regional chief of AMAN Malut (North Maluku) [13]. Some local residents had no other choice but to sell land to the company and the bid price from the companies was  low (e.g. IDR 8,000-9,000 per sq metre, equal to around half a euro) based on regional regulations [9]. While the majority of residents have sold their land, a few have refused to do so. It was reported that “intimidation by security forces, and dispossession of access to forest and other social and environmental concerns have sparked protest and denunciations of the projects” [11]. Some protests took place in 2019 by the relatives of O Hongana Manyawa band that live in Akejira forest [3]. Another protest took place in July 2020, when 450 South Wasile residents walked for two days to Kao Rahai, where PT WBN was opening a new nickel mining area, and blockaded roads by building tents and halting mining activities [9].

In addition, there were protests from students and civil society organizations in Ternate. AMAN urged IWIP to 1) comply with international laws and treaties including ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the rights of the indigenous peoples; 2) implement free, prior, informed consent (FPIC) on all forms of policies before operations that affect the livelihood of indigenous peoples; and 3) comply with Indonesian law, especially the Constitutional Court Decision Number 35/PUU-X/2012 regarding customary forests (not state forests) [3]. Students protested in Ternate and in Tobelo, North Halmahera, including the Student Action Solidarity for the Indonesian People (Samurai) Malut and the Sylfa Student Association of Kharun University [5], [14], [15]. The latter held a protest with the theme “Save Ake Jira, the Heart of Halmahera and the Tobelo Dalam Tribe”. The students demanded that the Halteng Regency Government ratify a local regulation on indigenous peoples in order to protect this tribe [5],[3]. IWIP representative responded [16] that they had obtained a borrow-to-use forest area permit (IPPKH) and that the Tobelo Dalam community is one of the main stakeholders in their mining concession, with whom they had developed a good relationship [5]. On the other hand, the issue of Ake Jira’s customary forest reached the Presidential Secretariat Office (KSP) in Jakarta with a letter sent by AMAN Malut that complained about the issues faced by the indigenous people of Tobelo Dalam in Central Halmahera after the arrival of WBN and IWIP in the area [16]. KSP issued a letter that urged the companies to respect and protect the indigenous people of Tobelo Dalam and align with the recommendations put forward by AMAN [16].

On 23 October 2019, another demonstration was held by Aliansi Masyarakat Ake Jira Halmahera (the Ake Jira Halmahera Community Alliance, AMARAH) in front of the Ternate Mayor’s office [17]. The crowd carried banners reading " Selamatkan Ake Jira” (“Save Ake Jira”) and asked for the revocation of the Mining Business Permit (IUP) of IWIP, WBN and PT Tekindo Energy [17]. The AMARAH alliance is a coalition of NGOs, civic organizations, movements, and student associations, including Walhi Malut, AMAN Malut, LBH Marimoi, Daurmala, FNKSD, Sekolah Critis, GeMPAR, SAMURAI, LMND, GAMHAS, The Buas, PANDECTA, KAMMI IAIN, Jendela Mahasiswa Politik, Pusmat, Gemah IAIN, Jejak Timur, SEMUT, DEMA Ekonomi IAIN, and Gerilya Institut [17]. A representative of the demonstrators indicated that the mining activities in the Ake Jira forest not only threatens the Tobelo Dalam, but also has an impact on the waterbody in the region [17]. It was also indicated that the residents of Tobelo Dalam that lived in Ake Jira had left their original residential area due to massive mining activities, while AMARAH representative did not know where they had left for at the moment [14], [17].

As of July 2022, the operation of IWIP and the construction of new coal-fired power plants continued, as an announcement by China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC, or Energy China)’s subsidiary Zhejiang Thermal Power indicated that they had won the contract for another unit of 380MW CFPP to be built for a smelting project at IWIP [18].

A number of local and international nickel mining companies operate in the IWIP, including PT Weda Bay Nickel (WBN), PT Yashi Indonesia Investment, PT Libai Indonesia Metal Co, PT Weda Bay Energi, PT Youshan Nickel Indonesia. PT Weda Bay Nickel (WBN) is owned by Indonesian state-owned company PT Antam Tbk (10%) and Strand Minerals, whose shareholders are Chinese company Tsingshan (57%) and Eramet (43%) [7]. PT WBN was created in 1998 after the Contract of Work had been signed by the Indonesian government and a feasibility study was launched [7]. Previously the shareholders of WBN included Eramet (66.6%), Mitsubishi Corporation (30%) and Pamco (3.4%) [5]. However, the project was on hold for years due to the financial crisis and changes of ownership, until the partnership was forged between Eramet and Tsingshan. According to Eramet website information, 14.6 wet megatons of nickel ore and 39 kt of low grade nickel ferroalloy was produced at WBN in 2021 [19].