The Indonesian government announced Monday the move of its capital, today Jakarta, on the island of Borneo, the fourth largest island in the world, as we explained Axel de Tarlé in The world moves on Tuesday. A spectacular decision, announced as a necessity by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Major ecological impact
The capital, Jakarta, which has 10 million inhabitants, is destined to be submerged by the waters by 2050. The ocean rises every year with the melting of polar ice and Greenland, and at the current rate, a third of the second world megacity will be gone in a generation, that is, in 25 years. For Indonesia, now is the time to act: the country will create a new capital, ex-nihilo, a thousand kilometers away, on the island of Borneo. The move will begin in 2024 and will cost $ 32 billion (28.8 billion euros). Jakarta, on the island of Java, however, would remain the economic capital of the country.
But this move would threaten the biodiversity of the island, as pointed out the ecological associations. The island of Borneo is home to a wild fauna and flora, including a population of orangutans, potentially threatened by the construction of a new megacity.
Rising waters, a global phenomenon
The rise of the oceans does not only threaten the Indonesian archipelago. In the Pacific, some countries are expected to completely disappear by the end of the century: this is the case of the Kiribati Islands, which have 110,000 inhabitants. In this region, 32 islets have already disappeared.
This phenomenon also affects Florida, where the seaside villas have not been popular since they are regularly submerged. Rich populations are now looking to settle inland, in the old neighborhoods that are high and dry - high and dry, in English. This is the new fashion in real estate in the United States, but also in France. Along the Atlantic coast, the seaside houses are in the front line facing the rising waters.