Environmental Concerns
Despite Lake Matano's remote location, it is the site of Pt. INCO, one of the largest nickel mines in the world, which carries out strip mining in the surrounding rainforest. Although large areas are cleared for mining the company has a well regarded rehabilitation program and award-winning sediment control systems. The vast areas of rainforest are replaced by mono-cultures of largely non-native trees to counter erosion but doing little to address the loss of biodiversity and the environmental services this provides. The waters of Lake Matano are exceptionally clear, visibility is good, and many of the fish species are highly dependent on visual cues and colour perception for their mating behaviour. If the sediment washing into the lake continues to increase, the likelihood is that many of these endemic species will be lost.
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)