Reklamasi Gurun Pelawan // Reclaiming the Pelawan Desert

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

TIN MINE REMEDIATION IN BANGKA, INDONESIA

TOBY MCCARNEY

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS 2022

SUPERVISED BY MARGARET GROSE

SITE ANALYSIS

THEORY

PRECEDENTS

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

FINAL DESIGN

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you for everyone that made this thesis project possible through your support, guidance and insight.

Margaret Grose, Steve Calhoun, Anga, Bappeda Kab Bangka, Sinaga & Kampoeng Reklamasi, Bujang Squad, Fred Phillips, BGR, Museum Timah, Ziming Xie, James Maund, Mia Dore, my classmates, my coworkers, my parents and many more.

RESEARCH STATEMENT

Sustainable technologies, such as solar panels and electric vehicles, are presented as essential to addressing climate change, however there is a lack of scrutiny into the destructive environmental, social, and economic impacts of the extraction process required for producing the materials for these technologies.

One third of the world’s tin supply, a metal essential for all electronics, is extracted from the island of Bangka in Indonesia, which has caused a rapid collapse of the environment and agricultural production that sustains local communities.

Remediation is a key stage in the mining process in Bangka, however most efforts fail due to sabotage by local communities, as they rely on the immediate income generated through continued illegal mining and tourists visiting the dramatic post-mining landscapes.

The aim of this thesis is to develop an alternative approach for the long-term remediation of the tin mine ‘Gurun Pelawan’, that increases reforestation and agriculturally viable land whilst formalising tourism potential to secure immediate economic benefit.

Teknologi berkelanjutan, seperti panel surya dan kendaraan listrik, adalah penting untuk mengatasi perubahan iklim, namun kurangnya pengawasan terhadap dampak lingkungan, sosial, dan ekonomi yang merusak dari proses ekstraksi yang diperlukan untuk memproduksi bahan untuk teknologi ini.

Sepertiga dari pasokan timah dunia, logam penting untuk semua elektronik, diekstrak dari pulau Bangka di Indonesia, yang menyebabkan cepatnya kehancuran lingkungan dan produksi pertanian yang menopang masyarakat setempat.

Remediasi adalah tahap kunci dalam proses penambangan di Bangka, namun sebagian besar upaya gagal karena sabotase oleh masyarakat lokal, karena mereka mengandalkan pendapatan langsung yang dihasilkan melalui penambangan ilegal yang berkelanjutan dan wisatawan yang mengunjungi bentang alam pascapenambangan yang dramatis.

Tujuan dari tesis ini adalah untuk mengembangkan pendekatan alternatif untuk remediasi jangka panjang tambang timah ‘Gurun Pelawan’, yang meningkatkan reboisasi dan lahan pertanian yang layak sambil memformalkan potensi pariwisata untuk mendapatkan keuntungan ekonomi langsung.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY

TOBY MCCARNEY,

2022

BANGKA, INDONESIA

Bangka is the 9th largest island in the archipelago of Indonesia, with a population of 1,146,581 people. The island is a popular tourism location for Indonesians, especially for its beautiful beaches.

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

ABUNDANCE OF TIN

Bangka has an abundance of tin, producing a third of the world’s supply each year. Tin mines have existed on the island for over 200 years, however extraction has dramatically increased in the 21st century to meet global demand.

Large-scale mining corporations now primarily mine offshore, however there is still significant onshore mining done by unregulated artisanal miners. Both of these sources of tin are essential for the manufacturing of the world’s electronic circuits, ending up in our smart phones, computers, cars, solar panels, etc.

As a result, it is estimated there is 123,000 hectares of barren post-mining land in Bangka, 7.4% of the island’s total land area. This has become a major issue for Bangka’s population as it limits their ability to transition their economy from complete dependence on mining to other productive land uses, such as agriculture.

Ex-mines have also become popular tourist destinations due to their dramatic topography and vivid blue water. this has created an alternative income source for local communities but prevents the restoration of vast mining landscapes.

KAOLIN LAKE (DANAU KAOLIN), IN SOUTHERN BANGKA ALLUVIAL TIN

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

PELAWAN DESERT (GURUN PELAWAN)

The Pelawan Desert is the local name given to a 230ha mining area in central Bangka subject to multiple mining permits. Formal mining has ceased on the site, however artisanal, or ‘unconventional mining’ (tambang

inconvesional) continues. Furthermore, the ‘desert’ has become a tourist destination due to the novelty of its vast dramatic mountains of overburden. 4km

1km

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

Although the Pelawan Desert is predominately surrounded by small agricultural parcels, it is also in the vicinity of multiple ecotourism destinations and the Belilik local community.

RICH ALLUVIAL TIN DEPOSIT

Originally a low-land swampy rainforest, the Pelawan Desert is a thin stretch of alluvial soil which accumulated tin ore naturally through the erosion of surrounding granite hills. Clearing and mining commenced in 2004, and has since removed all organic matter from the soil and formed a dramatic landscape of blue-green pools and mountainous piles of overburden.

EXPLORING THE PELAWAN DESERT

ARCHITECTURE THESIS

LANDSCAPE

BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

MOUNTAINOUS PILES

RUBBISH

EFFECTS OF ALLUVIAL TIN MINING

Alluvial tin mining completely deforests the landscape, typically along waterways where alluvial tin is abundant. This results in acidified water with trace metals, barren soil from the removal of organic matter, and high erosion which creeps into surrounding land. Site reclamation following mining is imperative because of these impacts.

Mining permit holders are required to return the site to its ‘previous ecological condition’ as a condition of their license. Therefore, there has been multiple reclamation initiatives in the Pelawan Desert for discrete mining permit areas (typically 10ha parcels).

RECLAMATION CONCEPT PLAN PREPARED BY FRED PHILLIPS CONSULTING, AN AMERICAN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FIRM, FOR PT BANGKA-BELITUNG TIMAH SEJAHTERA.

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

CONFLICTING INTERESTS

However, reclamation projects have largely failed due to the community resistance. Unconventional mining is a low cost and high paying income source for the local people. Furthermore, the unique desert landscape has

begun to attract tourists, providing an additional income source for locals and increasing resistance to reclamation.

RECLAMATION PLANTS ARE WASHED AWAY BY UNCONVENTIONAL MINERS

THIS BASIC STRUCTURE IS USED BY UNCONVENTIONAL MINERS TO SEPARATE TIN FROM THE SANDY SOIL PUMPED FROM POOLS OF WATER

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY

TOBY MCCARNEY,

2022

MAPPING DESERT TOURISM FROM INSTAGRAM POSTS

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

STAKEHOLDER INTERESTS

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Beginning to stop illegal mining

Attempting to diversify the economy to transition away from dependence on mining

MINING LICENSE HOLDERS

Wishes to restore mining site to meet license obligation

Minimises costs by meeting minimum threshold for reclamation by mass grid planting

LOCAL COMMUNITY

Belilik Village, Namang

Opposed to reclamation due to reliance on illegal tin mining & tourism for income

Lack capital to increase agricultural capability to a profitable scale

ENVIRONMENTAL NGOS

Bujang Squad, BPDASHL, etc

Initiating community-driven reclamation Lack of Funding

ENVIRONMENT

Becoming

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

PT Timah, PT Babel Timah Sejahtera, etc

Central Bangka Regency

PROCEDURALLY GENERATING TOPOGRAPHY

Bangka’s alluvium has a naturally high concentration of tin due to the erosion of granite rock, therefore most extraction is done through surface mines.

These alluvial mines can be highly dynamic landscapes as tailings and overburden are processed by water pumps.

There is a lack of high resolutions spatial data available for Bangka, so I created an approximate site survey by processing satellite imagery and drone photography by writing a Grasshopper script that generates topography.

MINING PIT SAND TAILINGS OVERBURDEN EROSION RILLS

KOLONG TAMBANG TAILING PASIR LAPISAN BATUAN PENUTUP ALUR EROSI

LANDCOVER ANALYSIS

ROAD VEGETATION

SATELLITE IMAGERY

Post-Mining Landscape

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

RESULTING CONTOURS (0.5m)

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

STATE & TRANSITION MODEL FOR RECLAMATION

Reclamation can be approached as a process navigating transitions between stable states separated by discrete changes beyond the threshold of the state. Multiple transitions are required to transform an active mine into alternative, sustainable economic uses. This model maps out the possible states of the Pelawan Desert and the necessary changes to transition between them. Each of these states and transitions have economic implications for the local community and the funding organisation.

FLORENTINE, ET AL. (2016). BUILDING SUITABLE RESTORATION APPROACHES IN THE BROWNFIELDS. IN SUSTAINABILITY IN THE MINERAL AND ENERGY SECTORS (PP. 227-243). CRC PRESS.

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

The above diagram proposes a phased approach for transitioning to multiple discrete states across the Pelawan Desert. This overcomes the resistance that arises from attempting to transition to any individual state, diversifies the land use, and provides short and long term economic benefit

THIN PARK TYPOLOGIES FOR POST-INDUSTRIAL SITES

The elongated form of the mining site means it is strongly defined by its edges. Karl Kullmann proposes seven typologies for redesigning such linear rifts in the landscape.

The Reclamation of the Pelawan Desert is aligned with the method of

suture, as reclamation attempts to ‘stitch up’ the mining area by introducing surrounding landuses. However, tourism favours the stage typology, as tourists naturally want to move along the linear corridor, stopping at points of interest. Therefore, the reclamation plan should combine these two approaches to create a hybrid landscape.

TOURISM AGRICULTURE & REFORESTATION

KULLMANN, K. (2011). THIN PARKS/THICK EDGES: TOWARDS A LINEAR PARK TYPOLOGY FOR (POST) INFRASTRUCTURAL SITES. JOURNAL OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, 6(2), 70-81.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

NORTHUMBERLANDIA: DESIGNING WITH OVERBURDEN

Northumberlandia is a design by Charles Jencks in Northumberland, northern England. It is a 46 acre community park constructed from the overburden sourced from an adjacent coal surface mine which was rapidly planted with hydroseed. Northumberlandia is an example of transitioning a mine into a tourism destination by reforming existing materials into a dramatic landscape.

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

RECLAMATION VILLAGE (KAMPOENG REKLAMASI)

Reclamation Village is a reclamation pilot project in Bangka, funded and managed by PT Timah. The mining site was transitioned into an agro-tourism site by introducing fruit trees, fishing and cattle. This project offers an example of combining agriculture and tourism as a reclamation approach.

However, Reclamation Village is only a 36ha site and would be far too expensive on a much larger scale mine.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

SKETCHING TO EXPLORE DRAMATIC TOPOGRAPHIC FORMS

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

EXPLORING SPATIAL LAYOUT

TOURISM LIVESTOCK WILDLIFE CORRIDOR WHITE PEPPER FARM FRUIT TREE FARM LOW-LAND RAINFOREST

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPING SCALE

I started developing my design in CAD to accurately show scale and use recommended planting area dimensions. However, my approach started becoming too square and geometric, rather than working with the site topography.

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

SITE MODELING

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY

TOBY MCCARNEY,

2022

DEVELOPING DETAIL

Hand-drawing allowed me to loosen up my design and quickly iterate. The site design had to respond to existing topography and consider the edges between land uses.

DRAMATIC ENTRY FOR TOURISTS AGRICULTURE POSITIONED ALONG NORTH-SOUTH ACCESS

FRUIT TREES ON FLATTEST AREA

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

EXISTING LOW-POINT

REFINING DETAIL

EDGES ARE MORE NATURAL AND LESS IMPOSED

MORE ACCURATELY REPRESENTING EXISTING TOPOGRAPHY

ROAD ADJUSTED TO MINIMISE GRADING & BE MORE DIRECT

EXPLORING AREAS INTERESTING FOR CAMPING

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

REPRESENTATION EXPERIMENTATION: RENDER VS DRAWN

I initially 3D modeled and rendered my design perspectives to be highly realistic. However, after talking with my supervisor and friends, I reflected on how realistic renders can obscure design decisions as they more closely

resemble a photograph than a conceptual vision. I decided to experiment with showing my designs as more abstracted drawing style to bring focus to the design elements.

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

AI IMAGE GENERATION

I experimented with using the Dall-E AI to generate simple perspectives. Dall-e uses deep machine learning to produce images from text, and therefore is a powerful tool for rapidly iterating images from a description of a designed composition

Here are a few of the images generated from variations of the prompt “a photo of a field of Sunn Hemp yellow flowers with forest in the far distance, in the field an Indonesian man is taking a photo with a woman posing wearing a hijab”.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

KEY SECTIONS

SECTION BB: DESERT LOOKOUT

SECTION CC: LAKESIDE RESTAURANT

SECTION DD: BLUE POOLS WALK

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

SECTION AA: SUN HEMP HILLS

PHASE 1: TOURISM & RECLAMATION INFRASTRUCTURE

PLANT CROTALARIA JUNCEA (SUNN HEMP) FOR NITROGEN FIXING, EROSION CONTROL & GREEN MANURE

CONSTRUCT TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE FOR COMMUNITY INCOME

COMMUNITY-RUN NURSERY & COMPOSTING FACILITY IN PREPARATION FOR FUTURE STAGES

PLANT GROUNDCOVERS BEFORE INTRODUCING LIVESTOCK FOR MANURE

SUNN HEMP GROWS IN POOR SOIL, FIXES NITROGEN & PRODUCES ORGANIC MATTER FOR COMPOSTING

LIVESTOCK CAN BE QUICKLY INTRODUCED TO FEED ON GROUNDCOVERS & MANURE IS IDEAL FOR FERTILISER

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

BANGKA

OPEN AIR RESTAURANT RECLAIMED ISLAND

RESTAURANT CAPITALISES ON EXISTING DRAMATIC TOPOGRAPHY & INCREASES TOURIST VISIT TIME

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

COMMUNITY REFORESTATION GROUP TO PLANT DENSE LOW-LAND RAINFOREST SPECIES

RETAIN BLUE LAKES AS POST-MINING LANDSCAPE AS UNCONVENTIONAL MINING DECLINES

SCATTERED TREES TO STABILISE SOIL

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

PLANT SPECIES

GROUNDCOVERS

Establishing ground cover plants is the first stage for large-scale remediation. ‘Pre-greening’ reduces erosion and increases availability of nitrogen nutrients and organic matter. This improves soil fertility for reclamation plants, as well as producing organic matter for composting.

REFORESTATION

The original vegetation covering the site was lowland swampy forest.

Sengon is a native forestry tree used for paper, light construction and pallets.

AGRICULTURE

Fruit trees are effective for largescale reclamation and provide income once established.

Sunn Hemp - Crotalaria juncea Centro - Centrosema pubescens Tropical Kudzu - Pueraria phaseoloides

Cashew - Anacardium occidentale Orange - Citrus × sinensis Mango - Mangifera indica Avocado - Persea americana

Samak - Syzygium polyanthum Tiup-tiup - Adinandra dumosa Pelawan - Tristaniopsis merguensis Griff Sengon - Paraserianthes falcataria

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

FINAL DESIGN

NATIVE ANIMAL SPECIES

Reforestation provides habitat for many of Bangka’s incredible native animal species.

The native tree species have been chosen to increase habitat that is being rapidly reduced by mining and deforestation for palm oil.

Scarlet-rumped Trogon

Bornean Slow Loris

Silvery Lutung

Wagler’s Pit Viper

Roughneck Monitor

Black-faced Kingfisher

Giant Honey Bee

Horsfield’s Tarsier

Land-land swampy rainforest, as seen at the nearby Pelawan Tourism Forest

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THESIS BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

FINAL DESIGN

EXPERIENCING THE TOURISM CORRIDOR

Reklamasi Gurun Pelawan introduces large agriculture parcels to the Pelawan Desert with tourist sites staged along the corridor. However, the design also considers the tourist experience when traveling along the

whole site. This 4km long experiential section shows the varied journey that two tourists travel when visiting Reklamasi Gurun Pelawan and the sights they see along the way.

PELAWAN DESERT

YELLOW HILLS

SUNN HEMP CROTALARIA JUNCEA PLANT NURSERY

THESIS

LAKESIDE RESTAURANT

CAMPGROUND

SCARLET-RUMPED TROGON LUNTUR PUTRI

ROUGHNECK MONITOR BIAWAK LEHER SOUVENIRS AND LOCAL PRODUCE

CULVERT BLACK-FACED KINGFISHER CEKAKAK-PIPI HITAM WHITE PEPPER PIPER NIGRUM CULVERT

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

BY TOBY MCCARNEY, 2022

BORNEAN SLOW LORIS KUKANG BORNEO

SILVERY LUTUNG LUTUNG KELABU

HORSFIELD’S TARSIER KRABUKU INGKAT

GIANT HONEY BEES LEBAH-MADU BESAR

BLUE POOLS WALK

FOREST HONEY

SAMAK / INDONESIAN BAYLEAF SYZYGIUM POLYANTHUM

TIUP-TIUP ADINANDRA DUMOSA

SENGON PARASERIANTHES FALCATARIA

PELAWAN TRISTANIOPSIS MERGUENSIS GRIFF

FOREST SPECIES:

REKLAMASI GURUN PELAWAN

CONCLUSION

After undertaking this project I can now appreciate the highly complicated nature of tin mine remediation. Reclamation is not as simple as putting trees in the ground, it is navigating the conflicting social, economic, and ecological drivers that often lead to these projects failing.

This project provides a method for combining tourism potential, agricultural productivity, and reforestation on a dramatic, but problematic, landscape. A responsive site design is key for overcoming community resistance,

diversifying the local economy, and sustainably implementing corporate funding.

It is imperative that reclamation does more than just plant acacia trees in a 4x4m grid to ensure Bangka’s people and environment have a prosperous future. Ceasing tin mining is not an option as we continue to rely more on sustainable technologies, so we must ensure that sustainability also encompasses the sourcing of materials and those impacted by extraction.