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Development by design for sustainable Indonesia
Development by Design (DbD) resembles Sukarno’s concept as it seeks to provide a holistic view of how future development could affect natural systems and offers solutions for both people and wildlife.
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To avoid permanent damage and to prevent bigger losses, it is necessary to develop a well-planned design based on scientific study that can be verified, accounted, measured and monitored. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has announced that the capital city of Indonesia will move to East Kalimantan. Since the plan to move the capital city was revealed a few months ago, a debate has arisen as to whether the relocation is necessary and will disrupt the ecosystem due to land conversion, and how it will keep the right balance between development and conservation.
Due to its unique geographical location, Indonesia has an extremely high level of biodiversity and endemism, both in its terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Our terrestrial biodiversity ranks second after Brazil with 19,000 to 25,000 species of trees and other living species, according to the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) report in 2015.
When one rainforest is destroyed, it takes up to 250 years of reforestation to return to its ideal condition, researchers Kuswata Kartawinata and Soedarsono Riswan have found. The loss of an ecosystem and its biodiversity will not only affect the life of Indonesian people, but it will also impact the world.
East Kalimantan is a biodiversity hotspot in terms of its ecosystem, species and genetics. Errors in land-based planning will threaten the rich marine ecosystem.
Nonetheless, development is inevitable, driven by population and economic growth. Indonesia is currently the world’s 16th-largest economy and is predicted to jump to the seventh-largest in 2030. With this in mind, the government should make sustainability a priority in developing the new capital.
Several policies and strategies now focus more on economic growth and override the sustainable development paradigm. Without intervention, it could damage, even destroy, our biodiversity.
To avoid permanent damage and to prevent bigger losses, it is necessary to develop a well-planned design based on scientific study that can be verified, accounted, measured and monitored. The methodology is best known as development by design based on science to protect nature, to improve resource management and to invest wisely for a sustainable future.
