As the world’s largest archipelago of 17,000 islands, Indonesia supports tremendous biodiversity of animal and plant life in its pristine rain forests and its rich coastal and marine areas. Indonesia’s stunning natural environment and rich resources, however, are facing sustained challenges both from human activity and natural phenomena.

The growing pressure of population demands, together with inadequate environmental management is a challenge for Indonesia. Deforestation of peatlands ranks Indonesia the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Total economic losses attributable to limited access to safe water and sanitation are conservatively estimated at 2 percent of GDP annually while the annual costs of air pollution to the economy have been calculated at around US$400 million per year. These costs are typically borne by the poor because they are more likely to be exposed to pollution and less likely to afford mitigation measures.

Indonesia is also the second-largest generator of inadequately managed plastic waste after China, producing over 3.2 million metric tonnes of plastic – 10 percent of the world’s total – which ends up in landfills or as litter each year (figure 1). Due to urban runoff and the illegal dumping of litter, many rivers in Indonesia are choked with plastic waste, which leads to flooding and disease.

Although environmental education and awareness remains low, it is improving. According to a survey conducted among Indonesian consumers in September 2019 (Statista Research Department), 82% of respondents aged 16-39 years in Indonesia stated that nature and the environment were very important for their daily lives.

The annual Emissions Gap Report, which compares where greenhouse gas emissions are heading, versus where they need to be, shows that global emissions need to fall by 7.6 percent each year over the next decade, if the world is to get back on track towards the goal of limiting temperature rises to close to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The time to act and make a change is now, before it’s too late.