An Effort to Defend The Agricultural Ecosystem of Parigi Moutong

The agrarian conflict between local communities and the gold mining company PT. Trio Kencana in Parigi Moutong (Parimo), Central Sulawesi, escalated on February 12, 2022. The community opposed mining activities amidst concerns of their potential impact on the environment and agricultural ecosystems. Protests by the community were met with a dispersal operation carried out by a joint police force from the Parimo Police Department and the Central Sulawesi Regional Police.

The incident resulted in the death of one local, ER (21 years old), who sustained a fatal gunshot by the police. Additionally, 59 individuals were arrested by law enforcement; one person was released at the Kasimbar Police Station, with the remaining 58 detainees transferred to the custody of the Central Sulawesi Regional Police. Brazened by the plight of the victims in this conflict, activist and researchers began the initiation of the study, “Social Acceptance and Community Perceptions of Mining Operations and Their Impacts” (A Case Study of Gold Mining in Parigi Moutong).

The research employed a mixed-methods approach (Creswell, 2014). The study was focused on three districts: Kasimbar (4 villages), Tinombo Selatan (3 villages), and Toribulu (1 village), with 402 respondents selected randomly. The multistage random sampling method was used, with a margin of error of ±5% at a 95% confidence level. Additionally, 10 informants (village heads, village secretaries, and hamlet heads) were interviewed using a snowball sampling technique.

This post is also available in: Indonesian