After Iran, Indonesia is our second main destination. It holds the 4th largest population in the world and it’s rapidly changing into a modern industrial developed country. It has an overwhelmingly rich history and culture: over 300 ethnicities live on Indonesia’s 17.000 islands and more than 300 languages are spoken. From its paradise seas, to lush rainforests to hundreds of active volcanoes, Indonesia’s nature holds the 2nd largest biodiversity in the world. Can the modern developing society, the traditional cultures and the pristine environments coexist in Indonesia? Our investigation aims to take us across the Indonesian life, from urban Jakarta to wild rainforests; it will give us an overview of Indonesian society as well as an inside knowledge to problems that affect not only Indonesia, but our entire world. Because of Indonesia’s sheer size – from Banda Aceh in Sumatra to Jayapura in East Papua it’s 13 hours by flight or 6000km on roads and boats – we decided to focus on a single island: Java. It is the most populated – 110 million out of Indonesia’s 240 million – the most developed and it holds the capital city Jakarta and the informal cultural capital Jogjakarta. So let’s dive into Indonesia’s heart.
Jakarta
We leave the cold winter of Iran behind and land in Jakarta around midnight. It is exciting from the first breath of hot, humid tropical air. Hordes of teenagers on scooters swarm around our taxi and large groups of people dine around street food vendors. It’s a complementary mix, the improvised shacks where simple people cook simple but delicious food on the sidewalks, under the bright lights of a modern downtown with towering steel and glass skyscrapers. It’s all very exciting, especially after one months of life under Iranian Islamic laws. But after a few days we see the bad side also: Jakarta is just too hot and too crowded. Spending two hours on the way to work and another two hours on the way back home is a normal thing for Jakarta’s residents. It’s 28th of December so every company and organization is on holiday and staying in Jakarta until the holidays are over is out of the question. This is of course a very big inconvenience for our research, but with a bit of luck we meet our investigation guarding angel in Jakarta. Kestri Aryianti is 28 years old and she worked for a mining company in Sumatra. After seeing the damage these companies make to the tropical rainforests, rivers and local communities, she had to quit her job and applied for an opening at UN’s office in Jakarta. As she had previous experience working with NGOs she got the job and now she’s working at United Nation’s Development Programme (UNDP) on Indonesia’s REDD+2 Agency. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) is a set of steps designed to use market and financial incentives in order to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from deforestation and forest degradation. This program is funded by Norway with $1 Billion, which are awarded in installments depending on the program’s results. To avoid government corruption the agency is coordinated by the UN and the results of their work – which sometimes includes investigations incriminating powerful corporations and officials – go directly to the President of Indonesia. So Kestri was the guarding angel of our investigation because she and her friends opened all the gates we needed in Indonesia. By the way, the friendship of Indonesian people is truly amazing; I will have to open a chapter later in this document about it. Halimun Salak National Park Halimun Salak preserves the most complete rainforest ecosystem in Java. Finding accurate information on how to get there is a bit of a challenge, but of course our friend Kestri was there to help and she also put is in contact with Mr. Pak Tri Siswo Rahardjo, the director of the National Park. There is only 100km from Jakarta to Kabandungan, a small village where the Park’s Head Quarters is located. However on the crazy Javanese roads this means a full day of crazy travel. My Indonesian friend warned me about the „road madness” but I only understand what he meant while sitting in rusty minivan waiting to fall apart, with 18 people inside, swerving on a tight bumpy road between trucks and motorscooters. We try to imagine what happens if you take a Norwegian driver and place him in the middle of this chaos.....: heart attack. So it is late in the night when we get to the HQ of Taman Nasional Gunung Halimun Salak. We are welcomed by Mr. Pak Tri, the head of the park. We sit with him for a nice tea and a cigarette. He smokes four packs per day to compensate for a healthy lifetime in the middle of national parks and reservations. He told us about the main activities of his staff. One of his reserach teams is out in the park gathering data, even though it is one day before the New Year. While the park is pretty successful in stopping illegal wood cutting, the biggest problem is illegal hunting. The protected are of the park also hosts a few dozen small villages, mostly of rice farmers. The staff at Halimun Salak runs training programs for environmentally friendly farming.
1 Comment
sasa
3/10/2014 10:40:33 pm
thank you you've come in indonesia :D
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