Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Indonesia's new forest capital in Borneo heightens fears for orangutans' future
Are there any government’s promises of “will NOT” that have not been breached?
Lying on the northwest coast of the world’s most populous island, Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia and the largest city in Southeast Asia. As the city has been sinking as much as 17 centimeters a year, it suffers continual flooding along with the typical megacity problems like ecological breakdown and traffic congestions caused by rapid urban growth and motorization. The Indonesian government decided to abandon the old capital and build a new one on the island of Borneo, which is shared by 73%, 26%, and 1% by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei respectively. It promises to build a clean and green capital with minimal environmental impacts.
Relocating the capital of the most populous country in Southeast Asia is a megaproject. It raised serious concerns among environmentalists and animal conservationists. Indeed, the place where the new capital is going to be built is immensely rich in biodiversity with over 130 mammals and 11 primate species. It is estimated that about a half of the surviving orangutans, or about 57,000, live in Borneo. When the projected 1.5 million new residents start their living there, and will soon expand to the surrounding areas, it could cause environmental disasters to the area that have already been suffering from deforestation and agricultural activities. The highly intelligent but critically endangered orangutans have no other places to go but zoos.
Read the article and learn about how the capital relocation could destroy the biodiverse Borneo’s environment and threaten the lives of orangutans.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/indonesia-new-capital-borneo-orangutans-cmd/index.html
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