I thoroughly enjoyed reading the feature story, ‘For distribution, for fairness’, regarding the Indonesian capital move and its impact on the environment, published in the Weekend Bulletin on January 7. I’m pleased that articles like this are being published.
I understand the reasons behind Indonesia’s decision to move its capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan. However, the environmental impact on the horizon concerns me, both in the short and long term.
While the ideology behind it is good – building an ‘eco’ city – I am sceptical about their execution.
It got me to reflect on the current state of our country. How many more malls are going to be built? Are all the deforestation, traffic and concrete necessary? The same businesses move from one mall to the next and leaving older shopping complexes empty and unmaintained. How long will “shiny” malls stay shiny?
Ultimately, it is the environmental destruction that upsets me.
We need to focus our efforts on embracing nature and the stunning landscape our country has to offer. We need to cherish the ecosystem as it is, rather than learning about it at a museum once the wildlife habitat has been wiped off the map.
Forest Lover
