Context: Recently, Indonesian government unveiled the site of the country’s new capital to show  the progress made on the city’s construction

• The new capital Nusantara is located in East Kalimantan province on the Indonesian part of Borneo

• East Kalimantan is an area with immense water resources and habitable terrain on Borneo island which is shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Background

• Indonesia's parliament has passed a law approving the relocation of its capital from slowly sinking Jakarta to a site 2,000 kilometres away on jungle-clad Borneo island that will be named "Nusantara".

• The move was first tipped by President Joko Widodo in April 2019, citing rising sea levels and severe congestion on densely populated Java island.

• Jakarta lies on the northwest coast of Java. The largest islands in Indonesia are Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Sulawesi, and the Indonesian part of New Guinea (known as Papua or Irian Jaya).

Reasons For Shift

• Jakarta is home to about 10 million people and three times that number in the greater metropolitan area.

• Jakarta is the world's most rapidly sinking city and at the current rate, it is estimated that one-third of the city could be submerged by 2050. uncontrolled groundwater extraction and  rising Java Sea due to climate change are considered main reasons for sinking.

• It floods regularly and its streets are so clogged that it's estimated congestion costs the economy $4.5 billion a year.

• Jakarta’s air and water are heavily polluted.

Note

• Indonesia is not the first country in the region to relocate from an overpopulated capital.

• Malaysia moved its government to Putrajaya from Kuala Lumpur in 2003, while Myanmar moved its capital to Naypyidaw from Rangoon in 2006.

Concerns

• East Kalimantan is rich in flora and fauna.Moving the capital to East Kalimantan would lead to massive deforestation and put the habitat of  animals and trees in danger and damage the ecosystem.

• Relocation of  Indigenous Balik people because of the construction.