INDONESIA CHANGE IN CAPITAL FROM JAKARTA TO BORNEO

  • The Indonesian government is in the process of leaving, moving Indonesia’s capital to the island of Borneo
  • Jakarta is home to about 10 million people and three times that number in the greater metropolitan area.
  • It has been described as the world’s most rapidly sinking city, and at the current rate, it is estimated that one-third of the city could be submerged by 2050.
  • The main cause is uncontrolled ground water extraction, but it has been exacerbated by the rising Java Sea due to climate change.
  • Its air and groundwater are heavily polluted.
  • It floods regularly and its streets are so clogged that it’s estimated congestion costs the economy $4.5 billion a year.
  • Indonesia plans to establish the city of Nusantara — an old Javanese term meaning “archipelago”.
  • The new metropolis will be a “sustainable forest city” that puts the environment at the heart of the development and aims to be carbon-neutral by 2045.
  • It will entail constructing government buildings and housing from scratch.

It may cause:

  1. massive deforestation,
  2. threaten the habitat of endangered species such as orangutans and
  3. imperil the homes of Indigenous communities

The Indigenous Balik people are being relocated

  • Forest Watch Indonesia has warned that most of the forested areas in the new capital are “production forests” meaning permits could be granted for forestry and extractive activities that would lead to further deforestation.
  • There has been no certainty regarding the protection status of the remaining natural forests in the new capital city area.
  • The region can expect more days of extreme heat in years to come.

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB

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