Once considered part of the sunset industry, the dynamics of supply and demand for global tin resources are constantly changing. Then, the context changed again, which was marked by a declining demand. This context coincides with the increasing discourse and agenda of energy transformation and adaptation to global sustainable climate change. The context of the materiality of tin which also contains high value minerals—also closely intersects with how the dynamics of global market needs actually affect the political-economic structure within ASM. As a result, either directly or indirectly, this context actually affects the dynamics of ASM at the lower level because extraction activities increase and are even more massive.
This study aims to explore the context of adaptation and transformation of ASM’s work in tin resource governance, with a particular focus on the dynamics of participation, governance changes and the continuity of informal mining. So far, there are still limited political studies that focus on how to adapt ASM mining governance, including how ASM can adapt to regime change and also the power structure, whether taking place at the local, national and global levels.
This study will also map various variations of ASM that are constantly changing, and form new political-economic relations and structures that are synonymous with inclusiveness, local technological innovation, and also the flexibility of smallholder tin mining actors. It is certainly not easy to let go of the socio-economic mobility of people’s tin mining to become more flexible, individual, simple, fast and easy to obtain the same results as various parties who manage tin resources on a large scale.
This study will use an ethnographic approach that seeks to understand everyday political-economic experiences through ASM’s adaptation politics in extracting tin resources. This context is not only seen from the exploitation process of unconventional mining, but also the informal ways to form new structures and patterns of social relations between actors.
Rendy teaches at the Department of Political Science at the University of Bangka Belitung (UBB)-Indonesia, and also work as the executive secretary of The Ilalang Institute (Institute for Public Policy, Politics and Local Democracy), a non-government organization based in Bangka Belitung Islands Province. His main responsibility in the organization is leading the implementation of several projects such as research, public discussion, public school, seminar, and several advocacy and community empowerment programs. Furthermore, he is also responsible to establish and maintain a network with other key stakeholders (government, private sectors, and NGOs) in Bangka Belitung (Babel). Previously, he was the project manager of CitRes-Net at the department of Political Science UBB from 2021-2022. Lately, he is active in conducting a number of projects related to increase public awareness and taking into account concerns of all stakeholders with regard to the mining governance and sustainable green economics transformation in Babel. Lately, Rendy is also active as a member of board for education representative- Babel Islands Province (for period 2014-2019, and 2019-2024).
Rendy, PhD scholar at the Department of Politics and Government, Universitas Gadjah Mada
