(Jakarta Globe) Jokowi’s Ambitions for the Sea Must Protect

12/12/2018

President Joko Widodo’s call for the country to turn toward the sea with the aspiration of reclaiming the archipelago’s reknown as a global maritime nexus rests on a simple premise: Most Indonesians live and die by the sea.

From history’s Srivijayan sailors to today’s oilmen, we find at sea Indonesia’s eternal potential.

Public discourse has so far centered on the economic functions of all that lies beyond the water’s edge. We can use the sea to convey people and goods among our thousands of islands and abroad; we can catch fish more efficiently; we can extract minerals, oil and gas drawn from vast depths.

A great deal of excitement has been deservedly devoted to anticipated demand for more ships, seaports, housing complexes and commercial zones along our coasts, as well as reclamation of beaches.

Bobbing beneath this background have been the defense capabilities necessary for protecting Indonesia’s maritime interests and projecting its power.

Little, if any, thought has been paid to a different kind of defense interest: preserving our seas’ vast and wild resources for future generations.

If we fail to show the sea its due regard, the next chapter in the history of the ocean will show us responsible for its destruction.

For instance, a project to reclaim 700 hectares of Benoa Bay, Bali, for hotels, a convention center and

entertainment

threatens to destroy 23 percent of a bay teeming with a rich mangrove ecosystem on which the local fishing community depends.

We don’t oppose reaping nature’s benefits to enable better livelihoods. We support Joko’s vision of the sea as the nation’s centerpiece. But if he aims to enhance Indonesia’s vitality through its seas, any plan to develop as maritime power must endeavor to protect our waters and coasts — including climate change’s impact on our islands and inhabitants.

JejakParlemen

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(Jakarta Globe) Jokowi’s Ambitions for the Sea Must Protect