Political ecologies of the post-mining landscape: Activism, resistance, and legal struggles over Kalimantan's coal mines

This study explores contestation over the meanings, rules and practices of coal mine reclamation and mineThis study explores contestation over the meanings, rules and practices of coal mine reclamation and mineclosure in the context of East Kalimantan, Indonesia's major coal producing province. As mining intensified inthe province, and coal was mined out, concessions were left with large mine voids un-refilled and abandonedwithout closure – many within close vicinity to human settlements. Following an extended campaign led by adiverse group of social movement actors, utilising various advocacy and litigation strategies, the East Kalimantanlegislature adopted a provincial regulation in 2013, reinforcing higher-level regulations that mandate coalmining companies to conduct reclamation and post-mining clean up. The regulation was the first time thatactivists had directly influenced policy regulating mining at the sub-national level in Indonesia. Yet the policyoutcome alone has not been sufficient to shape change: an estimated 1735 coal mine voids remain un-refilled inEast Kalimantan, and the number of human fatalities from deaths in mine voids continues to grow. Remediationof mine sites is rarely performed to return land to its pre-mined conditions. By bringing together relevantscholarship in political ecology, the politics of development and legal geography, we analyse the relationshipsbetween pact-making, political settlements, contestation and policy reform related to the governance of postminelandscapes.