Finding the way,

Nature Doesn’t Make Mistakes
Any body knows that Indonesia is a beautiful country. Indonesia is home for various cultures which the beauty is wonderful. As a large archipelago country, Indonesia consists of thousands islands spread in 33 provinces from Sabang to Merauke. Indonesia possesses a remarkable and valuable environment. As a tropical country, Indonesia has fertile land with tropical forest on it. Geographically, Indonesia which is located in south east between two oceans which are Indian and Pacific ocean is really strategic to emerge and to grow various species of flora and fauna. The country is home to the world largest reef system and one of the world’s largest rain forest, both of which are home to thousands of unique species. Moreover, Indonesia’s huge forest function as one of the world’s main “carbon sinks”(natural means of sequestering world carbon emissions). The preservation of such sinks is an important aspect of avoiding climate change. As the information that Indonesia contains 10 percent of the world’s forest cover, and has the third largest tropical rain forest. However, in the last several years, many tropical forest regions have been damaged due to the increasing land demand as an effect of demographic growing (the number of Indonesian population exceeds 220 million (www.bkkbn.go.id) . As the result, environment quality is decreasing those generates, or at least exacerbated the worse impact of natural disaster. Besides, Indonesia as active tectonic region produced some natural hazards in some regions. Lately, many news media report that earthquake occur in many places. Fortunately, shallow epicenter earthquake usually occur in the remote areas with less number of populations. However, in some cases major earthquake stroke dense populated region. As the tragedy of tsunamy in Aceh and its surrounding on Sunday morning 26th of December 2004. A huge earthquake by magnitude 6.8 richter scale (body wave) or 8.1 richter scale (magnitude moment). The shock could be felt in a very wide spread from Banda Aceh to Medan. Many building collapsed, few minutes after the shock tsunamy wave swept collapsed building material and everything on the ground away. The situation of Banda Aceh after disaster, rabble and dead bodies of victims mixed up everywhere over the whole city. It makes condition worse because of lack of heavy equipment for clearing up. The bad environment sanitation generated other problem of out breaking disease after disaster. Total loss of live exceeds 150,000 for the whole impacted area. It was a great number of death.

The other tragedy is earthquake, 5,9 SR in Yogyakarta on May,27 2006, it totally damaged the houses, office buildings, many public services, and had thousands people to be the victims in this tragedy. Another great earthquake, 7,9 SR also occurred in many places such as Bengkulu, September 12 2007 in Indonesia. It automatically demands a great attention from government to solve the problem as soon as possible.

Other natural disasters which are generated by or exacerbated by human activities are floods, landslides, land/forest fire, etc. Those are believed as an impact of land or environmental degradation. In the monsoon, Indonesia is threatened by flood and/or landslides which cause loss of human life and property. On the other hand in the dry season, we are facing drought and land/forest fire as well as urban and building fire. Drought is another serious problem faces in the dry season between April and September. Government assisted to have priceless rice and other livestock. This condition also effects on hydro power supply due to significantly lower of water in many reservoir and forest fire. Those types of disasters are considered to be generated by environmental degradation due to deforestation.

I don’t know whether Indonesia government believe in the wise word ”experience is the best teacher” or not, but looking for tragedy by tragedy stroke Indonesia, the government seems have their eyes closed. Floods which hit many areas are free from solutions. Every year we can see a large see around the houses both in remote area or in a capital city like as Jakarta. Is it really no solutions to solve the problem?

Floods and landslides were predominantly Indonesia’s natural disaster. The global climate changes and regional climate condition were most likely influenced on those natural disasters. Human activities are also exacerbated the disaster.

Indonesia’s water quality is deteriorating. One of the most serious problems is the lack of sewerage system in urban areas. Indonesia environment monitor notes that Indonesia ranks among the worst countries in Asia in sewerage and sanitation coverage. Few Indonesian cities possesses even minimal sanitation system. The absence of good sanitation network forces many households to dispose of their waste directly into rivers which of course contaminated the water. Indonesia’s absence of controls on industrial emissions also has led to the degradation of water resources. The forthcoming report by Indonesia’s State Minister for the Environment, Rahmat Witoelar is reported acknowledge that many factories continue to dump their liquid waste into rivers without treatment. A lack of regulations on agricultural chemicals has led to damage of water resources in Indonesia’s farmland.

Besides natural disaster, Indonesia is also facing man-made type of disaster. The nation of Indonesia is composed of multiethnic, tribes and religions. This condition is vulnerable to the social conflict which is usually followed by setting fire and demolition of building or settlement. Moreover, since the last period of new order governance, Indonesia begins to face more complicated problems whether social, politic, economy and defense. Indeed, those problems has been closely linked with natural disasters.

The Illness of Indonesia

Back to Indonesia years ago, when Indonesia was under the new order government, it seemed like no worries in Indonesian’s social life. Farmer, fisherman, driver, seller, and many people we call “wong cilik” enjoyed their life because everything was cheaper, they argued that new order gave an easy access to get job, a very simple reason!. They didn’t know that exactly, the government took much bigger the national wealthy to enrich their own welfare. As the result, national resources for national welfare is owned by the people of government for their private needs. It just after new order collapsed, corruptions, collusions and nepotisms disclosed.

The new-order government left many problems behind. Economic crisis is the most complicated problem. A great number of debt, money inflation, a very expensive good and other economic problems are waiting for solution. Then, political situation makes Indonesia has more complicated problems.

Indonesia is a development country. But it seems no difference with poor country. Indonesia’s per capita income is low. There are still many jobless and homeless. Indeed, economic crisis makes people get difficulties in continuing live. Monetary crisis forces people to allow many ways to survive even though by damaging the environment.

The scope of Indonesia’s environmental problems is large. According to The Jakarta Post, June 24 2007, a report compiled by Indonesia’s State Minister For Environment states that the natural environment is deteriorating on all fronts. The report cites illegal logging of Indonesia’s forest as one of the largest problems facing the country. This problem derives from the relative poverty of much of Indonesia’s population and the weakness of enforcement. Logging impacts Indonesia ‘s environment in many ways. The deforestation that results from unregulated logging closely caused the floods and landslide. Two decades of rapid economic development, significant population expansion, and regulatory neglect have placed Indonesia’s environment in jeopardy.

The more expensive BBM causes the cost of goods raises too much. It is felt so heavy for people with low income. They confuse on how to make their stoves flaming. The rarity of BBM makes economy in Indonesia worse. Whereas, Indonesia’s per capita energy consumption is lower than other industrialized countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Korea etc. This reflects the large proportion of Indonesia’s population that continues to live with little or no electricity. We can find many areas don’t get an electricity services, especially remote areas in Indonesia. However, Indonesia is a large oil and natural gas producing country, most of its energy needs are from fossil fuel combustion. Indonesia’s natural resource is bigger than others. Nevertheless, the human resource is not as good as the natural resource. Indonesians seem have no ability to cultivate their soils. They tent to Entrust it to the foreigner investors which then harm Indonesia and the workers. Indeed, Indonesia has significant energy source, but has done little to exploit it. However, economic crisis, depletion of oil reserves and environmental needs are leading Indonesia towards greater exploitation of renewable energy source.

Renewable Natural and Human Resource

Human being will not be able to survive without nature, both are related each other. That is character. But sometimes human doesn’t remember their duties to keep the nature as well as possible. Floods, landslides, drought, land/forest fire are natural disasters generated by human activities. Don’t we study from experiences? floods hit Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia year by year, but the government leaves the problem without any solution. The leaking of hot muds in Porong, earthquake in Bengkulu, and many incidents happened in Indonesia are also free from solution. While the refugees waiting for aids, corruptions are precisely spread widely.

Corruption by public official is not something new. It is like a disease undermines a body. And Indonesia is a sick man with various disease inside. This country will always suffer along the mentality of Indonesian is low. Fact states that the number of educated people in Indonesia is still little. Many troubles are coming around the education. the standard of education, the quality of the teaching staff, the infrastructure and instruments, the teaching aids, cost of education and so on. The economic conditions of the community also make it difficult to impact behavior of ways of thinking, one result being that the number of children who drop out of school increases. Here, low economy income become the main reason of criminal actions such as robbing and human trafficking. UNICEF estimates that 100,000women and children are trafficked annually for commercial sexual exploitation in Indonesia and abroad, 30 percent of the female prostitutes in Indonesia are under 18, and 40,000-700,000 Indonesian children are victims of sexual exploitation (www.unicef.com).

Thus, Indonesia’s sufferings are complete enough, disasters come not only from nature, but also from human’s social life. But the fact tells others. From the report above, we know that Indonesian’s mentality is still low. The number of educated people is countable. Meanwhile, Indonesia is facing very complicated problems. For that, Indonesia needs to regenerate Indonesian’s youth as well as possible, so they are qualified enough to solve this multidimensional crisis.

As the country recovers from the economic and political turmoil of the late 1990 and early 2000s, the Indonesian government faces the challenge of enacting and enforcing the environmental legislation. The legal system in Indonesia has to improve enforcement of environmental regulations against the intentional setting of forest fires and the use of leaded energy. In particular, Indonesia has to address the infrastructure related problems of deforestation, renewable energy, and bad sanitation. Meanwhile, the duty of natural preservations is not only for the government, but also for all elements in Indonesian country. This is the challenge of Indonesian’s youth, they will have to prove their contributions for Indonesian’s nation.

One of ways to produce a great generation is through education and moral and spiritual investment for Indonesian people. Thus, Indonesia has educated men with good mentality. In terms of capacity building, ensuring equal distribution and increasing the quality of life of the Indonesian people through education.

In the end, I invite all of the next generation to save and cure our beloved country with good way. The easiest thing that can be done is study hard and improve our morality in order to make our brain and heart smarter, and if we smart we can do everything to cure our Indonesia.