Today, I visited my old friend. On the way, I passed by some rural areas. The areas that should be green with fresh air, but I saw the contrary. I passed by a housing developer that built housing residences in a fertile area.
Indonesia used to be one of the biggest producers of rice in South East Asia, but today, Indonesia should import rice from Vietnam and Thailand. Centralized development can be one of the factors. The Indonesian government turned from an agricultural country into an industrial country. The centralized policy of development attracts high urbanization. Most industries are located in Jakarta and West Java. Jakarta is surrounded by West Java province in the east of Jakarta. West Java is one of the agricultural provinces. There are many rice fields in the province.
Because of many urban who live in Jakarta, the demand for housing increases. That is why some developers try to grab the opportunity. Economically, the high demand for real estate is good for economic growth, but the development has deteriorated the environment and ecosystem. Some developers build their real estate areas on fertile areas like rice fields.
There are thousands or million acres of rice fields turn into buildings. They will impact the environment and ecosystem. Besides that, some farmers should change their professions. Ones who are not ready for the change will be eliminated. An ethnic group that is hit by the unfriendly development is Betawi ethnic. Some of the Betawi ethnic people are farmers. Those who have no skill, not in farming, will be eliminated. They finally sell their properties and real estate to survive. Finally, they lost their homeland. Urban people who are educated with high capital turn into land lords in Jakarta and West Java. This is ironic. How a development sets aside the native people.
This is one of the housing developments that cannibalizes farming land. The housing takes up a rice field area. In fact, the houses in this kind of area will often flood in the rainy season. Unfortunately, the policy still continues. I am not sure how the politicians, economists, experts in the environment keep quite in the condition. I think their stomachs are full of money, so they do not care about the environment.
