A grim illustration of the rapid degradation of Indonesia's environment is recorded in 2005 State of Environment, a document published recently by the Office of the State Minister of the Environment.
The report looks at disasters that have ravaged parts of the archipelago and the even greater threats posed by sanitation shortcomings and increased economic globalization.
The Jakarta Post's Tubagus Arie Rukmantara examines aspects of the report, which runs to more than 290 pages, in the articles below: Many Indonesians no doubt wish they will never again have to hear the song News to Friends, by noted folk singer Ebiet G. Ade – the tune that is all over the radio and TV every time a disaster hits a part of the country.
However, according to Professor Suparkah of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, the song is likely to be played for some time yet. Suparkah says disasters here are unavoidable because the country is located in the Pacific's "Ring of Fire", where a string of volcanoes and fault lines put the whole archipelago under constant threat.
But it is not only natural disasters that Indonesians have to fear. The Office of the State Minister for the Environment has come to the conclusion that the many catastrophes hitting the country are being worsened by the rapid destruction of the environment.
"Environmental degradation is getting worse every day; that is why we have compiled a 'state of the environment' report to allow us to analyze the causes of the series of disasters that we have recently faced," State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said at the report's launch.
The recently published 2005 State of Environment Report highlights the rapid degradation of the nation's forests, seas, air and fresh water resources and notes that these, combined with a general lack of spatial planning, greatly affect public health.
The 295-page report notes that the country's more than 120 million hectares of forest, the world's third-largest tropical rain forest, are rapidly vanishing, with a deforestation rate rising from more than 2 million hectares in previous years to 3.5 million ha last year.
The usual causes – unchecked illegal logging, forest fires and land conversion – are blamed for forest destruction.
However, the report also notes that deforestation is likely to accelerate because more protected forests are set to be cleared as the cash-strapped government allows 13 mining companies to convert areas into producing zones. Of the 13, six filed requests to turn more than 300,000 ha into mining sites last year, the report said.
Some experts, meanwhile, have challenged the idea that deforestation is the major cause of natural disasters that affect populations. They say population growth and inappropriate spatial planning are the main reason for the large number of human fatalities. Nevertheless, all experts agree that deforestation often increases the size and intensity of disasters.
The grim picture extends beyond the forests to marine areas, which make up two-thirds of the country's territory.
The report said of the country's 51,000 square kilometers of coral reef areas, only 5.8 percent are well-preserved, a decrease from 2004 when 6.8 percent were in good condition. Indonesia's coral reef areas are the largest in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, about 57 percent of the country's 9.2 million hectares of mangrove forests are in a critical condition, increasing the risks of soil erosion and flooding for people living along the nation's 81,000 square kilometers of coastline.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said the degradation of marine resources meant more than 750 coastal villages were flooded in 2005 or suffered from erosion-related problems, posing serious health and economic risks to more than 16 million coastal people and three million fishermen.
The report predicts large-scale floods are likely to continue in the future and it notes that of the country's 400 "watershed" areas – land that drains rain into marshes, streams, rivers, lakes or groundwater – 62 are in critical or damaged condition.
Of the 62 damaged watershed areas, 17 are in Java, where about half of the nation's population live. The report said in the past five years, more than 54 million hectares, or almost 7 percent, of the country's total watershed areas, have been converted to other functions, including residential areas.
While the number of recorded floods and landslides dropped to 41 from 106 in 2004, the intensity of these disasters was worse, causing more loss of life and higher material and economic losses.
However, the report did not quantify data on the loss of life or the economic costs of last year's natural disasters.
"These conditions are caused by the fact that the nation's development does not yet take into account the need for an ecological balance and is merely about exploiting natural resources," Agus Prabowo, environment director at the National Development Planning Agency, told a discussion on the environment and disasters recently.
One cost that can be quantified is the amount the government has earmarked for environmental disasters this year – Rp 4 trillion (about US$440 million) from the 2006 state budget. The money is designated for environmental programs across all ministries and 58 percent has already been apportioned to rehabilitate environmentally damaged areas, while another 18 percent has been allotted to handle the effects of pollution.
"If the government does not change the way it manages natural resources soon and revise all regulations that are exploitation-oriented, the county's development will only yield more ecological disasters," Walhi executive director Chalid Muhammad said.