Somewhere between anarchy and authoritarianism is that sweet spot of democracy, and just like baseball, a few inches off the mark and you’ve got nothing but a flyout or, worse, a strikeout. Indonesia’s government and economy benefits from the hitter-friendly environment of Asia, where it’s been easy to hit home runs even during the recent global financial meltdown, but not everyone is rounding the bases. Far too often, corrupt politicians and their private sector cronies have been swinging with their eyes closed.
Indonesia’s balanced economy (GDP: 13.8 percent agriculture, 49.7 percent industry, 39.4 percent services), provides plenty of opportunity per se for households at every income level (Labor force: 43.3 percent agriculture, 18 percent industry, 38.7 percent services); but despite opportunity and growth (6.3 percent estimated anunal GDP growth in 2007, the highest since before the 1997-8 Asian currency crisis), poverty continues to linger, largely because of those who govern.
Indonesia has made great strides in democratic reforms; its uniquely decentralized government drew praise from international observers after 30 years of the totalitarian Soeharto Regime. Regrettably, the new provincial centers of power inherited the old habits:
Since Suharto, political power has been decentralized, and decision-making about natural resources has become more localized. Unfortunately, too often the result has been what one conservationist calls “the democratization of corruption.” Read the rest of this article in November 2008’s National Geographic Magazine….
Since most households in poverty world wide make their living from the land, they have the most vested interest in making sure the land doesn’t stop producing – something that applies especially in Indonesia’s Borneo Raiforests. Exposing corruption and poor governance is key to the poor fulfilling this role of environmental safekeepers, merging three of the world’s greatest challenges, poor governance, environmental degradation, and poverty (from the same article):
“Good governance” is a bureaucratic phrase often used by diplomats and nongovernmental organizations working in Indonesia and Malaysia. What it means in plain terms is removing the hands of politicians and their cronies from the pockets of poor people and opening up government actions to public scrutiny and free debate. Everyone working on conservation in Borneo agrees that no efforts—no laws or regulations, no new parks or protected areas—will be effective without it.
In the end, conservation in Borneo is not about the beauty of the rain forest, or about orangutans, or elephants, or even oil palm. Not one conservationist I spoke with believed oil palm was intrinsically evil, and most agreed that a properly managed industry can benefit poor people without sacrificing Borneo’s biological riches.
Published Date: October 15, 2008