Call us crazy, but we love Jakarta. Yes, it’s got a lot of problems – like traffic, pollution, poverty, traffic, corruption and flooding (not to mention the macet!) – but Jakarta is also home to many amazing and wonderful people. We criticize things about Jakarta because we want it to become a better place for all those people.
We think that a lot of people feel the same way, but how can we actually go about creating a better, more sustainable future for Jakarta?
The idea of making the cities we love more sustainable is at the heart of the latest campaign by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) called “We Love Cities”.
You might be surprised to hear the international environmental NGO advocating affection for urban environments, but as the “We Love Cities” website states: “With over 3.5 billion people living in them, cities have a big climate footprint. But they’ve got an even bigger opportunity to create better places to live and a healthier planet in the process. Through better transport, green buildings, harnessing the power of nature, wasting less and loving more, cities can lead the way to a climate-friendly future.”
To get people thinking about the sustainability of their cities, WWF is holding a contest in which people can vote for their favorite cities and share their ideas on how to make them more sustainable. Cities have been chosen by WWF based on their current and potential ability to improve their environmental sustainability. In Indonesia, the number of cities in WWF’s contest is down to three: Bogor, Balikpapan and Jakarta.
Yes, there really are people and projects in Jakarta working to make the capital more sustainable. As WWF’s “We Love Jakarta” page says, “Whether it’s solar power, eco-buildings or recycling more, Jakarta’s weaving sustainability into its city fabric with great results. Jakarta’s new buildings come sustainability-ready with eco-materials and solar panels to reduce energy consumption. The city is now turning waste into biogas and is overhauling its bus network – all to cut emissions by an impressive 62%. Water use is being addressed too with more now coming from more sustainable sources.”
Cynics will no doubt say that such efforts will not be able to have a significant impact on Jakarta’s environmental destructiveness, but we like to believe that Jakartans by and large are becoming smarter and more concerned about protecting the capital’s environment.
In addition to voting for Jakarta, users can also submit their own ideas on how to make the capital a better place – WWF promises to take the best ideas submitted to them directly to each city’s government.
Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is apparently a big fan of the campaign and is pushing for Jakartans to participate.
“We need the support from the citizens if we’re to become the Most Lovable Sustainable City,” he said yesterday as quoted by Tempo, adding that he would disseminate information about the competition through Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
How much do you love (or hate) Jakara, and what would you do to make it a better place?
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