Indonesia

In recognition of growing United States interest in environmental diplomacy and security as a part of U.S. foreign policy and the fact that Indonesia holds much of the world's natural resources, the purpose of this paper is to show how Indonesia's environmental problems are causing instability in the region and could lead to increased U.S. involvement in the region. The paper assesses Indonesia's environmental situation, its capabilities to handle environmental issues, and then explores environmental security issues that could cause internal and international conflict. The methodology used in researching this paper was limited to a literature review of material published primarily since 1994, on-line Internet resources, current newspapers, and radio and television news reports. The research found that the major environmental problems center on the effects of rapid urbanization, deforestation, and both marine and land pollution. While there is a well-established environmental infrastructure in place, there are still examples of both internal and international conflicts due to Indonesia's environmental problems. A 1997 forest fire in Indonesia was considered a planetary disaster and caused smoke and haze that lasted for months across Southeast Asia. The long-term implications include health problems for more than 20 million people and that threat of future legal action by neighboring countries. This environmentally-induced instability could lead to increased U.S. involvement in the region to protect U.S. national security interests.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.