ACADEMICS.web.id – From the outset, President Jokowi emphasized that the construction of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in East Kalimantan (Kaltim) prioritizes environmental factors. However, the initial process involved deforestation.
Jokowi also once claimed that IKN, which risks stagnation due to a lack of major investment support, would become the greenest capital city in the world.
This has become a significant question for the public, including for the young economist and Executive Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), Bhima Yudhistira.
“Actually, if IKN did not damage the forest and the process was more inclusive, it would be easier to make it green. But deforestation was done instead,” said Bhima, quoted on Sunday (June 16, 2024).
Bhima then revealed satellite images from the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). There has been a change in the condition of the forests in East Kalimantan following the implementation of the IKN construction project, which has an investment value of Rp466 trillion.
Because of the deforestation practices for infrastructure development, it is fair to conclude that the concept of the world’s greenest IKN is nothing more than empty rhetoric.
The agency released images of the IKN development captured by the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) on Landsat 9 and OLI on Landsat 8.
As published by NASA’s Earth Observatory, photos of IKN in April 2022 and February 2024 were shown. In 2024, a lot of land within the forest had already been cleared. This means that the forest was deforested and transformed into main roads.
On Tuesday (June 4, 2024), Jokowi stated that IKN would become the greenest capital city in the world. But there is a caveat: it must adhere to the original concept of development.
He said that many people currently have a misconception of the future city as a city with many skyscrapers. In fact, a future city is an environmentally friendly city.
“Including IKN, it will become the capital city with the concept of the world’s greenest capital because its concept is a ‘nusa rimba’ city, truly green,” said Jokowi.
Jokowi appreciated cities that have started adopting green concepts, such as Balikpapan and Surabaya. He urged other cities in Indonesia to follow the example of these two cities.@
