ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Elections in Indonesia next year is likely to spur deforestation with politicians seeking campaign funds from businesses in return for easier access to rich natural resources, environmentalists said.
Indonesia will hold a general election on February 14. Regional polls are planned for later in 2024.
“Next year’s election is pivotal for Indonesia to determine the fate of the richest and most biodiverse forests in the world,” said board member at Indonesian conservation group Satya Bumi Annisa Rahmawati. She and other experts fear the soaring costs of campaigns will undercut rainforest protection.
Professor in comparative political anthropology at the University of Amsterdam Dr Ward Berenschot said election campaigns in Indonesia are so expensive that politicians have developed “very close ties” with natural resource companies to help finance their ambitions.
“Measures to protect forests have been under pressure because helping campaign donors, or sometimes even family companies, to sidestep or circumvent (them) has been a way to fund campaigns,” said Professor Berenschot.
