II.

Land and Resources

A stretch of relatively open water (consisting of the Java, Flores, and Banda seas) divides the major islands of Indonesia into two unequal strings. The comparatively long, narrow islands of Sumatra, Java, Timor (in the Nusatenggara group), and others lie to the south; Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas, and New Guinea lie to the north. A chain of volcanic mountains rising to heights of more than 3,568 m (12,000 ft) extends west to east through the southern islands, from Sumatra to Timor. The highest points of the chain are Kerinci (3,800 m/12,467 ft) on Sumatra, and Semeru (3,676 m/12,060 ft) on Java. Each of the major northern islands has a central mountain mass, surrounded by coastal plains. Puncak Jaya (5,030 m/16,503 ft), in the Sudirman Range of Papua, is Indonesia’s highest peak. The most extensive lowland areas are in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Papua.

The volcanism that characterizes much of Indonesia reflects the fact that the country lies at the juncture of the Asian and Australian continental plates. At Flores island, west of Timor, the volcanic arc running west-east through the southern islands of Indonesia, meets another running north-south through Celebes and the Moluccas. Indonesia has about 220 active volcanoes and many more which are considered extinct. It is the site of the two greatest volcanic explosions in recorded history—Krakatau (or Krakatoa) and Mount Tambora. The volcanic island of Krakatau, lying between Java and Sumatra, erupted in 1883 destroying two thirds of its land area. The resulting tsunamis caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people throughout south-eastern Asia. The noise the explosion created travelled more than 4,830 km (3,000 mi), while the millions of tons of ash it threw into the Earth’s atmosphere caused spectacular sunsets worldwide for the next year or so. Tambora, on the northern coast of Sumbawa, erupted in 1815 blowing off its top half and killing an estimated 50,000 islanders. Earthquakes also occur: recent ones include the 1992 earthquake that struck Flores, killing 2,000 people; two earthquakes on the island of Sumatra: one that struck in February 1994, killing 180 people, and one six years later, in June 2000, killing 90; and an earthquake measured at 8.7 on the Richter scale that hit just off Sumatra in March 2005, killing an estimated 1,000 people on the island of Nias.

The world’s third most powerful earthquake on record, measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale, occurred on December 26, 2004, 160 km (100 mi) off the western coast of the island of Sumatra. The resulting tsunamis, the most devastating ever witnessed, caused widespread destruction when they hit land. The wall of water up to 15 m (50 ft) high wiped out entire village populations and left an estimated 200,000 people dead in Indonesia alone.

Volcanic activity also, however, brings significant benefits to Indonesia. Volcanic ash and lava have enriched the soil in many areas, and there is a strong correlation between agricultural development, population density, and the location of volcanoes. Java has the greatest concentration of recently active volcanoes (22), and some of the richest soils and highest population densities in Indonesia.

A.

Climate

Indonesia’s climate is tropical, with two monsoon seasons—a wet season from November to March and a dry season from June to October. The weather is more moderate between monsoons. The northern islands have only slight differences in precipitation during the wet and dry seasons; the southern islands east of Java have more sharply defined dry seasons, which increase in length with proximity to Australia. Humidity is generally high, averaging about 80 per cent yearly; the daily temperature range (about 20° to 32° C/about 70° to 90° F at Jakarta) varies little from winter to summer. Rainfall in the lowlands averages about 1,780 to 3,175 mm (about 70 to 125 in) annually; in some mountain regions it reaches about 6,100 mm (240 in).

B.

Natural Resources

The rich volcanic soil of Indonesia is ideal for crops and many varieties are grown. Indonesia has the world’s largest tropical forest reserves outside the Amazon. Logging has been intensive in some areas, notably Kalamantan, but forests still cover about two thirds of the total land area. Tin, bauxite, oil, natural gas, copper, nickel, and coal are major mineral resources; small amounts of silver, diamonds, and rubies are also found. Salt-water fish are abundant, and the surrounding seas also yield pearls, shells, and agar, a seaweed extract.

C.

Plants and Animals

Indonesia has some 40,000 species of flowering plants—a richer variety than the African or American tropics—including some 3,000 trees, 5,000 orchids, and the world’s largest (and possibly smelliest) flower, Rafflesia arnoldii, or the corpse lily. Tropical rainforest vegetation prevails in the northern lowlands of Indonesia. Mangrove trees and nipa palm dominate the forested lowlands of the southern islands. The hill forests consist of oak, chestnut, and mountain plants.

Indonesia is located in the transitional zone between two of the world’s major faunal communities—the Asian and the Australian. The dividing line between the two, known as Wallace’s Line, runs from east of Borneo in the north to east of Bali in the south; on Celebes and the Moluccas, both Asian and Australian types can be found. To the west of the line, the Asian animal community includes the rhinoceros, elephant, tiger, tapir, orang-utan, and various species of gibbon and monkey. To the east, Australian types include various species of cockatoo, bowerbirds, and birds of paradise; the echidna; and marsupials like the bandicoot and cuscus (phalanger). Many species are specific to a single island, or group. The orang-utan is found only in Sumatra and Borneo; the tiger, in Sumatra and Java; the wild ox, in Java and Borneo; the proboscis monkey, only in Borneo; the elephant, the tapir, and the siamang (black gibbon) are found only in Sumatra. All of the islands abound in birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The world’s largest lizard, the Komodo Dragon, lives on the island of that name, to the east of Flores. Like other endemic species, the Komodo Dragon is rare. Many species are also high on the endangered list, including the orang-utan and the two species of rhinoceros—the Javan and Sumatran. Such animals today are found almost exclusively in reserves and national parks.

D.

Environmental Concerns

Indonesia encompasses a wide variety of habitat types and is home to a huge diversity of plant and animal life—15,000 of its 24,000 known species of plants are endemic. The country contains approximately 10 per cent of the world’s tropical rainforest and expansive wetlands, most of which are under rice cultivation or used for aquaculture. The fringing coral reefs of the country’s many islands are of great importance in conserving marine biodiversity. Urban development, agriculture, and deforestation are most intense and extensive on the rich soils of the inner islands, where the country's population has traditionally been centred. As elsewhere in the developing world, deforestation is worsened by the cutting of firewood for domestic use. In recent years the government has encouraged 'transmigration' of large numbers of people to the outer islands. This has increased the level of exploitation on these previously untouched areas, where deforestation is now proceeding rapidly.

The country's extensive reserves of natural resources have been used significantly to reduce poverty and to increase incomes over the past 20 years, but access to safe water and sanitation remains limited. Although 61 per cent (1995) of Indonesia’s total land area remains forested, about 1 per cent (1990-1996) of the total forest area is deforested every year because of population growth and government incentives being to industry. Although the government has banned clear-cutting and the export of raw logs, law enforcement is often inadequate and illegal cutting continues. In October 1997, fires believed to have been deliberately ignited to clear land for farming and commercial development burned out of control, considerably increasing the rate of deforestation. Thick smoke from the fires mixed with air pollution from Indonesia's urban centres mixed to create a blanket of yellow-brown smog, causing fears about public health as tens of thousands of people were treated for respiratory illnesses.

Indonesia’s 1945 constitution recognizes the importance of economic development in harmony with nature, and the Basic Environmental Law of 1982 provides a framework for the management of the living environment, placing special emphasis on the protection of forests. Indonesia manages a protected area network that encompasses close to 9.7 per cent (1997) of its land area. Protected status has also been extended to an extensive marine reserve network.

Indonesia has declared six biosphere reserves under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program (Cibodas, Komodo, Lore Lindu, Tanjung Puting, Gunung Leuser, and Siberut) and the country ratified the World Heritage Convention in 1989. Cooperative conservation projects are planned with Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. International environmental agreements ratified include those on biodiversity, climate change, endangered species, hazardous wastes, law of the sea, nuclear test ban, ozone layer, ship pollution, tropical timber, and wetlands.