Jakarta Is Crowded/Sinking, Indonesia Is Moving Its Capitol

[downtoearth]

Jakarta Is Crowded And Sinking, So Indonesia Is Moving Its Capital To Borneo

Indonesian President Joko Widodo says his country will create a new capital city on the island of Borneo, revealing new details about his plan to move the central government out of Jakarta. The capital's current location faces a number of problems, including the fact that it's sinking.

Widodo's announcement Monday comes months after he said he wanted to move the capital, seeking a place that can offer a break from Jakarta's environmental challenges as well as its relentlessly gridlocked traffic.

While rising seawater levels from climate change are a widespread concern for island and coastal areas worldwide, experts say Jakarta has played a central role in its own predicament. "Jakarta's problems are largely man-made," NPR's Merrit Kennedy reported earlier this year. "The area's large population has extracted so much groundwater that it has impacted the ground levels, and many surface water resources are polluted."

As it looked for a new capital, Indonesia's state planning and development agency, called Bappenas, chose the Kalimantan site because it fit all the government's criteria, "including being relatively free from earthquakes and volcanoes," The Jakarta Post reports.

The new capital, which has yet to be named, would be in eastern Borneo, hundreds of miles northeast of Jakarta across the Java Sea. While the selected area is close to the cities of Balikpapan and Samarinda, the region is mostly known for its beaches and dense rainforests. Borneo's lush jungles also form large national parks that are vital habitats for orangutans.

www.npr.org/2019/08/26/754291131/indonesia-plans-to-move-capital-to-borneo-from-jakarta

[shauni27]

I heard this yesterday on NPR. Fascinating and terrifying.

[pixy0stix]

I don't think it's a bad idea to start looking at vulnerable areas and moving people/infrastructure out of them. That being said, if they move to a new area and plan to just keep on keeping on with their destruction as the population in the area follows them, then that's shortsighted.

[downtoearth]

pixy0stix, that is why I left the quote in about where they are moving. It's almost like they want a do-over, but aren't planning to change their building and living practices to accommodate a less affected area. I worry...

[rupertpenny]

I wonder if they have a plan for all the people who can’t afford to pick up and move to Borneo.

This reminds me of a book I read recently, Bangkok Wakes to Rain. It’s partially set in the future and Bangkok is under water.

[isabel]

Aug 27, 2019 16:19:39 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

This reminds me of a book I read recently, Bangkok Wakes to Rain. It’s partially set in the future and Bangkok is under water.

Sounds interesting. Was it good?

[wise_rita]

I'm intrigued by this book, too. Reminds me of The Wind-up Girl.

[pixy0stix]

Aug 27, 2019 16:19:39 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

I wonder if they have a plan for all the people who can’t afford to pick up and move to Borneo.

Does anywhere? The entire world is woefully unprepared for climate refuges.

[isabel]

Aug 27, 2019 17:15:47 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 27, 2019 16:19:39 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

I wonder if they have a plan for all the people who can’t afford to pick up and move to Borneo.

Does anywhere? The entire world is woefully unprepared for climate refuges.

I can hear Trump now: “well they shouldn’t have lived on an island. That’s their fault.”

[rupertpenny]

Aug 27, 2019 16:41:04 GMT -5 isabel said:

Aug 27, 2019 16:19:39 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

This reminds me of a book I read recently, Bangkok Wakes to Rain. It’s partially set in the future and Bangkok is under water.

Sounds interesting. Was it good?

It was pretty good. Not the best thing I’ve read this year, but definitely interesting.