The Board of Professors (DGB) of Universitas Indonesia (UI) through Committee 4, namely the Development of the Role of Universitas Indonesia in Society, held a seminar titled “Harmoni dengan Alam: Implementasi Ekosistem Darat di Ibu Kota Nusantara” (Harmony with Nature: Implementation of Land Ecosystems in the Capital City of the Archipelago) which was held at the University Administration Center Building, UI Depok Campus. The event was attended by experts who reviewed the strategy for implementing land ecosystems so that the development of the IKN can be a catalyst for environmental protection while improving the welfare of local communities.
The Chairperson of the DGB UI, Prof. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, S.H., M.A., Ph.D—in a speech read by the Secretary of the DGB UI, Prof. Dr. drg. Indang Trihandini, M.Kes.—said that the implementation of land ecosystems in the IKN is an important step towards harmony between development and nature conservation. This approach is in line with the global goal, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially goal 15, namely protecting, restoring, and supporting the sustainability of land ecosystems.
“The development of the IKN in East Kalimantan seeks to integrate the concept of sustainability by preserving land ecosystems. This development also offers the implementation of sustainable development practices that pay attention to local ecosystems and the welfare of local communities. For this reason, the integration of community cultural values in development projects is important to ensure that the solutions implemented are inclusive, sustainable, and beneficial to all parties,” said Prof. Harkristuti through Prof. Indang.
According to the Deputy for Green and Digital Transformation of the Indonesian Capital Authority, Prof. Ir. Mohammed Ali Berawi, M.Eng.Sc, Ph.D, in his keynote speech, out of the total area of the IKN, the land area of the IKN reaches 252,660 hectares. This area will later be developed into three areas, namely green areas and food production (10%), urban areas (25%), and tropical forests through the reforestation process (65%). The development of this city will be carried out based on five main principles, namely green, resilient, sustainable, inclusive, and smart.
“IKN must be a green, resilient, and sustainable city. It is called green because 75% of the area is used for forests and green areas. Meanwhile, resilience means that we build this city with the sponge city concept, namely sustainable urban planning to manage rainwater effectively. IKN is also an inclusive and modern city. We involve large-scale investors to empower MSMEs, and provide technology training for mothers and the disabled,” said Prof. Ali Berawi.
The seminar which took place on Tuesday, November 19, was moderated by Prof. Dr-Ing. Nandy Setiadi Djaya Putra presented four main speakers, namely Professor of Conservation Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences UI, Prof. Jatna Supriatna; Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UI, Prof. Dr. Semiarto Aji Purwanto; Country Director at Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Dr. Noviar Andayani; and Head of External Affairs APRIL, Nyoman Iswarayoga.
In his presentation related to environmental issues, Prof. Jatna said that the development of IKN requires collaboration from various scientific fields to produce the right spatial planning scenario. This is because the IKN was built on the island of Kalimantan, which has a large forest area with extraordinary biodiversity. Various animal species live in the forest, even species that are almost extinct.
Therefore, Prof. Jatna suggested building wildlife corridors as an alternative to managing species with large roaming areas. “Corridors are built so that species can move freely so that they do not experience stress. With this corridor, animal populations that are separated due to habitat fragmentation in the city can be reconnected,” said Prof. Jatna.
In line with Prof. Jatna, Dr. Noviar from WCS also emphasized the importance of building corridors as an effort to limit the openness of the human-animal interface. He recommended the One Health concept—which can identify where and how health risks can arise as a strategic response to build a narrative for communities living around forests or conservation areas about the importance of maintaining a healthy environment and ecosystem for economic, social, cultural, and health sustainability.
“As many as 60.3% of infectious diseases are zoonotic and their transmission is triggered by the increasingly open human-animal interface. Therefore, I hope that the one health approach or framework can be one of the references in building infrastructure, both physical, social, economic, and cultural infrastructure for the IKN. Corridor development can be a strategy to ensure that the development of IKN infrastructure continues to pay attention to biodiversity,” said Dr. Noviar.
