Climate Change genie has now badly affected many other living creatures on earth. Warming oceans are now sending the monogamous sea birds farther afield to find food, putting stress on their breeding and prompting some to ditch their partners. Albatrosses usually mate for life, making them among the most monogamous creatures on the planet. But climate change may be driving more of the birds to “divorce.
Ironically, since the Cold War, security has evolved from the security of the state and its resources to a broader sense that goes beyond the survival of nations. Today, security encompasses the environment, the economy, global health, cyber, biosecurity, demographic pressure and immigration, transnational crime, water and food security, and human rights.
In this connection, a new report released from the Deloitte Economics Institute shows that the United States economy could gain $3 trillion if it rapidly decarbonizes over the next 50 years.
Green stands for success, stability and sustainability in regional as well as global socio-economic spheres. Looming threat of non-traditional threats of climate change has forced all the countries to work jointly to reduce and eradicate this existential threat to human survival, productive channels and above all bio-diversity in the world and Indonesia is not any exception. In this connection, the government of Indonesia has been initiating various diversified but integrated policies to make the country greener.
Looming climate change has forced Indonesia to relocate its capital city from Jakarta which has the second largest urban area after Tokyo and is the diplomatic capital of ASEAN and moving it 1000 kilometers away to an island due to the grave problems which exists in the current capital.
Jakarta being the capital of Indonesia has contributed to severe inequality in Indonesia, as Jakarta lies on the island of Java which makes up 7 percent of the countries land mass and is home to about 60 percent of the population and the rest 93% of the land of Indonesia isn’t well represented in terms of economics, the economy of other islands have more or less remained stagnant
Indonesia has a unique geography, it consists of about 17000 islands most of these islands are rather isolated from the center of power at Jakarta as there is about 1000 of km of ocean between the different islands of the country.
Jakarta has experienced a tremendous urban growth over the years in 1970 it had about 4 million people while 50 years later in 2020 it had doubled to about 10 and half million largely due to huge internal migration from other parts of Indonesia which had led to a considerable ecological breakdown which includes land-water pollution. In 2010, all surface waters in Jakarta were heavily populated with gray water from households and commercial buildings along with discharges from industries.
Too further worsen the ecological situation of the city and increase the pollution about 5 coal fired plants are planned, which would create pollution equal to about 10 million cars, with in 100 meter radius of the city which would further cause ecological breakdown
The urban growth have also resulted in gridlocked traffic and congestion in the city, in 2018 TomTom, a GPS device company, had said that Jakarta’s congestion rate was 53 percent and in 2019 it remained stagnant and Jakarta was 10 on the world most congested city’s list.
As nearly 4.5 million cars and about 13 mil motor cycles are used in city’s streets. It is estimated that Jakarta’s resident will spend about 10 years in traffic which further tells about the traffic e in the city.
The rising sea level due to climate change is the biggest problem Jakarta is facing. The mega city is sinking about 1-15 cm below sea level every year and now almost half of the city sits below sea level. The extraction of groundwater to meet the growing city’s needs and the fact that the city is built on swampy ground is causing the surrounding seas to rise. It is estimated that till 2050 almost the entire city of about 10.5 million people will be buried under sea level.
This led to Indonesia making a decision to change their capital which was first announced by President of Indonesia Joko Widodo in 2019, to mitigate the huge environmental challenges faced by Jakarta and to redistribute wealth.
Indonesia new capital is named Nusantara which is located in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The project is estimated to be around 33 billion US dollars. East Kalimantan is still home to a diverse range of wildlife and lush rainforests. It is also known for being home to orang-utans.
The Indonesian government plans to keep the greenery in the new capital as the Minister National Development Planning Bambang Brodjonegoro has called the concept a “forest city”.
The new capital is at minimal risk of being effected by disaster whether it be tsunamis, earth quakes, floods and especially volcanoes which have caused significant damage to the archipelago in the past. There aren’t any active volcanoes in the island of Borneo which makes it safer for the country’s capital to be located here then at Java or Sumatra.
To conclude, while delivering a keynote speech during the most recently concluded COP25 the president of Indonesia termed climate change as a major threat to global prosperity and development and suggested that solidarity, partnership, cooperation, global collaboration key elements for global response.
he Indonesian president Jokowi showcased his country diversified but integrated programs, policies and structural initiatives to mitigate the socio-economic consequences of the looming threat of climate change by reducing deforestation rates.
here is an urgent need to implement a holistic and innovative policy in Indonesian forest management which has always attracted foreign donors and other stakeholders as a potential solution to reduce climate change impacts and provide alternative revenue for the country.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Development Planning (BAPPENAS) Indonesia claims to reduce GHG emissions by 43 percent by 2030, exceeding its current climate commitment, and deliver an average GDP growth rate of 6 percent per year until 2045, and more than 15 million new jobs in 2045 compared with business as usual needs to be rationalized.
The policy makers of Indonesia should accelerate climate action which is fundamental to a strong recovery, and would help its country from the first year, achieve stronger growth, higher employment and faster poverty reductions, and save lives by reducing air pollution.