In improving the public transport system in Indonesia's capital Jakarta, its leaders have also sought to address climate change by encouraging residents to ditch their vehicles.
Palm oil tycoon Surya Darmadi began trial in Jakarta on Thursday over an alleged corruption scheme that deforested tens of thousands of hectares on the island of Sumatra.
Jakartans - especially those living in areas unreached by the city’s pipe network - are still struggling to access clean potable water as scientists predict that climate change will disrupt water balance and a harsher El Niño can potentially spell problems for the city’s water resources.
Indonesia has grand plans for Jakarta—a new capital on Borneo, a giant bird-shaped sea wall to protect Jakarta itself—but they don’t solve the underlying problem.
Jakarta is sinking by around 12 centimetres every year. Singapore is heating up at double the global average. Manila is facing a spike in deadly typhoons. And Bangkok is on track to be under water by the middle of the century.
