Perspective: Climate Change and the Relocation of Indonesia’s Capital to Borneo

Abstract

Indonesia has recently announced the relocation of the country's capital from the island of Java to the island of Borneo. Java's limited sustainability is evident from extreme deforestation, biodiversity loss, intense road traffic, and high pollution. Jakarta, Indonesia's current capital on Java, is both one of the most densely populated cities in the world, and one of the most threatened by climate change. Negative impacts upon Jakarta due to climate change could affect its economy, human health, and biodiversity. These negative factors could be transferred from Jakarta to Borneo, at least partially, during the early stages of moving the capital. Borneo currently houses one of the largest remaining forested areas in Southeast Asia and is considered to be a biodiversity hotspot. However, despite its biological importance, ∼30% of Borneo has been deforested in the last 50 years. Borneo also has high rates of biological endemism, but some of its emblematic endemic species are critically endangered. We argue that Indonesia's announcement to re-locate the capital is one of the first examples of systematic, mass migration expected to occur linked to the climate change crisis. Unless a multidisciplinary and sustainable transition is implemented, the establishment of a new capital in Borneo could be a major biodiversity catastrophe. Research is urgently needed in Borneo to determine the status quo of its ecosystems for a largescale, before-after assessment of the human-footprint to better understand processes in the Anthropocene.

Disposal of government offices in Jakarta pending relocation of the Indonesian capital: an application of multi-criteria analysis

“…World interest has been aroused, and there has been significant debate in Indonesia (Abraham and Aditya, 2019; Tacconi, 2019). Environmentalists worry that the new capital could become a biodiversity catastrophe (Van de Vuurst and Escobar, 2020). Development could exacerbate deforestation which, across the five Kalimantan provinces of Indonesia, is recorded at 30% in the last 50 years due to infrastructure expansion, illegal logging and mining (Margono et al , 2014; Higginbottom et al , 2019).…”

“…Van de Vuurst and Escobar (2020) underline the importance of detailed environmental impact assessments to understand the effects on Borneo's biodiversity of new capital development and mass migration. They point out that sustainable practices must be applied to minimize damage.…”

“…The project could contribute to climate change and habitat loss, synergistically creating harmful effects on the environment (Collinge and Forman, 2009). Van de Vuurst and Escobar (2020) underline the importance of detailed environmental impact assessments to understand the effects on Borneo's biodiversity of new capital development and mass migration. They point out that sustainable practices must be applied to minimize damage.…”

Understanding the Climate Behavior Through Data Interpretation: Java-Bali-Nusa Tenggara Case

“…The influence of the rainfall rate to flooding is amplified for the coastline area (Sudirman, 2017;Simarmata and Surtiari, 2020). The increase in rainfall rate in DKI Jakarta might also be a sign of climate change as, according to Vuurst and Escobar (2020), Jakarta is one of the densest populated cities globally, and it is highly threatened by climate change.…”

Systematic review of Plasmodium knowlesi in Indonesia: a risk of emergence in the context of capital relocation to Borneo?

“…The decision was confirmed in January 2022 by the Indonesian House of Representatives. The new Indonesian capital, Nusantara, is projected to have 1.5 million inhabitants [ 30 – 32 ]. The establishment of this new capital and the construction of a trans-Borneo highway to Eastern Malaysia will involve deforestation of approximately 126,000 square kilometers of one of the oldest and largest tropical rainforests in Indonesia.…”