Jakarta, June 8 -- The Environment Ministry said its plan to take firm and systematic action against four nickel mining companies operating on different islands in Raja Ampat District, Southwest Papua, aims at protecting world biodiversity.

"We will not allow even one inch of damage in an area that is home to 75 percent of the world's coral species and thousands of endemic species. Law enforcement and environmental restoration are our main commitments," Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said in his statement on Sunday.

Hanif explained that Raja Ampat is a very special area, because its oceans are the center of the world's coral triangle with more than 553 coral species -- which is 75 percent of all world species, 1,070 species o...