The environment of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
consists of 17,508 islands scattered over both sides of the equator. Indonesia's size, tropical climate, and archipelagic geography, support the world's second highest level of
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
after
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Issues
Indonesia's large and growing population and rapid
industrialisation
Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
present serious
environmental issues
Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...
, which are often given a lower priority due to high poverty levels and weak, under-resourced governance.
Issues include
large-scale deforestation (much of it
illegal
Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body.
Illegal may also refer to:
Law
* Violation of law
* Crime, the practice of breaking the ...
) and related wildfires causing
heavy smog over parts of western Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; over-exploitation of marine resources; and environmental problems associated with rapid
urbanisation
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...
and
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
, including
air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
,
traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
, garbage management, and reliable water and
waste water
Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industrial ...
services.
Deforestation and the destruction of peatlands make Indonesia the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
threatens the survival of indigenous and endemic species, including 140 species of
mammals
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
identified by the
World Conservation Union
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
(IUCN) as
threatened
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...
, and 15 identified as critically endangered, including the Sumatran Orangutan.
Indonesia has a below average but slightly improving performance in the global
Environmental Performance Index
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
(EPI) with an overall ranking of 107 out of 180 countries in 2016. This is also below average in the
Asia Pacific
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Is ...
region, behind Thailand but slightly ahead of China. The EPI was established in 2001 by the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
as a global gauge to measure how well individual countries perform in implementing the United Nations'
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
. The environmental areas where Indonesia performs worst (ie. highest ranking) are
water resource management
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is Saline water, salt water and only three percent is fresh ...
(128), environmental effects of fisheries (127) and forest management (109), followed closely by
sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
.
Waste water treatment
Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environme ...
plans are expected to improve conditions a bit in the future. Indonesia performs best (ie. lowest ranking) in the area of
climate and energy
In the 21st century, the earth's climate and its energy policy interact and their relationship is studied and governed by a variety of national and international institutions.
The relationships between energy-resource depletion, climate change, ...
(41), mostly due to the excellent access to electricity, less so for
CO2 emission
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas. The top contributors to greenhouse gas emi ...
levels from power production. Health impacts of environmental issues (78) and biodiversity and habitat (83) also ranks above average.
Climate Change
Indonesia is at serious risk from the projected
effects of climate change
The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea level ...
. If emissions go unreduced, it is predicted that it will see an average temperature rise of around 1°C by the middle of the century,
0.3°C per decade.
[Case, M., Ardiansyah, F., Spector, E. (2007) 'Climate Change in Indonesia: Implications for Humans and Nature', Report for the World Wildlife Foundation. http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/inodesian_climate_change_impacts_report_14nov07.pdf Accessed 18/11/2018] This amounts to almost double the frequency of extremely hot days (with temperatures above ) per year by 2030, a figure which is predicted to rise to nearly one in three days by the end of the century.
Rising temperatures risk increasing the frequency and severity of draught and food shortages, as it will have (and already has already had) a serious impact on precipitation and the patterns of wet and dry seasons upon which the Indonesian agricultural system is based.
It will also encourage diseases, such as dengue fever and malaria, and increases in wild-fires, which threaten the huge areas of rainforest in the country.
Climate change is having and will have further serious impact in the form of
rising sea levels
Rising may refer to:
* Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique)
*Elevation
* Short for Uprising, a rebellion
Film and TV
* "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starga ...
. As Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago state, at current rates, rising sea levels will result in 42 million Indonesian households over 2000 islands being at risk of submersion by the middle of this century. Over 60% of Indonesia’s population live in low-lying coastal areas, including Jakarta, which is particularly at risk, as 40% of the city is below sea-level and is rapidly subsiding, putting a huge number of people at risk of displacement.
All of this is likely to affect poorer communities the most. Over 50% of the population of Indonesia live on less than US$2 per day, and the poor will bear the brunt of the disastrous effects of climate change, including death, illness and displacement, “as they are typically the most vulnerable to the impacts of drought, floods, and landslides and pursue livelihoods that are highly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors (i.e fisheries and forestry)”
Deforestation
Environmental policy and law
Treaties and international agreements
Indonesia is a signatory to a number of treaties and international agreements:
*Party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
*Signed, and ratified -
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
*Signed, but not ratified - Marine Life Conservations
Domestic environmental policy
In 2020 the rate of deforestation in Indonesia was the slowest since 1990. It was 75% lower than in 2019. This is because the government stopped issuing new licences to cut forests, including for palm oil plantations. The falling price of palm oil facilitated making it. Very wet weather reduced wildfires what also contributed to the achievement.
See also
* ''
Agricultural Involution: The Processes of Ecological Change in Indonesia'' (book)
*
Biodiversity of Borneo
The island of Borneo is located on the Sunda Shelf, which is an extensive region in Southeast Asia of immense importance in terms of biodiversity, biogeography and phylogeography of fauna and flora that had attracted Alfred Russel Wallace and oth ...
*
Environmental issues in Indonesia
Environmental issues in Indonesia are associated with the country's high population density and rapid industrialisation, and they are often given a lower priority due to high poverty levels, and an under-resourced governance.
Most large palm oi ...
*
Greenlifestyle
''Greenlifestyle'' is a non-profit online community of urban residents in Indonesia which was established as a sharing platform to discuss relevant tips for green living in the country's cities. The community began as a mailing list in June 2007, ...
*
Mangroves of the Straits of Malacca
The mangroves of the Straits of Malacca are found along the coast of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and northern Sumatra. These tropical mangrove forests are highly diverse, and are important wetlands with high conservation values. There are two Ra ...
*
Fauna of Indonesia
The fauna of Indonesia is characterised by high levels of biodiversity and endemicity due to its distribution over a vast tropical archipelago. Indonesia divides into two ecological regions; western Indonesia which is more influenced by Asian fa ...
*
Flora of Indonesia
The ''flora'' consists of many unique varieties of tropical plants. Blessed with a tropical climate and roughly 17,000 islands, Indonesia is the nation with the second highest biodiversity in the world. The flora of Ind reflects an intermingling ...
*
Climate of Indonesia
*
Geography of Indonesia
Indonesia is an archipelagic country located in Southeast Asia, lying between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It is located in a strategic location astride or along major sea lanes connecting East Asia, South Asia and Oceania. Indonesia ...
*
Protected areas of Indonesia
Protected areas of Indonesia comprise both terrestrial and marine environments in any of the six IUCN Protected Area categories. There are over 500 protected areas in Indonesia, of which 54 National Park are covering 16.4 million ha, and another ...
References
External links
Indonesia Green Business Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Environment Of Indonesia