18 What I Want for My Children

When I travelled to Sulawesi, in Indonesia, I was deeply struck by the richness of its natural environment. Its biodiversity is exceptional: tropical forests, coral reefs, and endemic species form an ecosystem of great fragility.

The island also has a very ancient human history and remarkably rich cultural traditions. I was particularly impressed by the Toraja culture, whose rituals and relationship with ancestors reflect a deep bond between communities and their land. In some caves in the region, rock paintings more than forty thousand years old remind us that this connection to nature goes back to immemorial times.

In this context, the contrast is especially striking in the Morowali region, which has in recent years become one of the world’s major centers for nickel extraction. This metal is now highly sought after for batteries and technologies linked to the energy transition.

At first, many local residents saw the arrival of mines and factories as a promise of progress. But over time, environmental consequences became visible: polluted rivers, damaged forests, threatened biodiversity.

This text tells the story of that growing awareness, and of the increasing determination of local communities – often supported by national and international organizations – to defend their land and their future.