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Phantom deeds see Borneo islanders lose their land to quartz miners

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GELAM ISLAND, Indonesia — Not long ago, Suparyanto discovered that his family home on a small island off the west coast of Borneo was to become a quartz mine. “I have never signed a land certificate or given power of attorney to anyone to manage my land on Gelam Island,” Suparyanto told Mongabay Indonesia. Suparyanto is not alone among former residents of Gelam. Mongabay Indonesia spoke with several families who said land on the island had been appropriated without their consent. Haryanto, a 35-year-old fisher, said he found out his land was gone after seeing his name on a list in the village office. The parcels of land were then transferred to mining operators controlled by Denny Muslimin, a parliamentary candidate for West Kalimantan province, records showed. Gelam is a 2,800-hectare (6,900-acre) island off the southwest coast of Borneo, at the confluence of the Java and Natuna seas. The island is currently uninhabited. However, Gelam was previously home to a community of traditional fishers like Haryanto and Suparyanto, who moved away to nearby islands to access schools, health care and other public services. Despite the migration, the island’s former residents continue to see Gelam as their home. Some families said they had received a token sum in cash, but were unaware why they had been paid. “We received 1 million rupiah [$64],” said Sumia, a resident of neighboring Cempedak Island, where many families moved from Gelam in order to access basic public services. “We have land and farmland in Gelam…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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