The grand spectacle of the regional head elections (Pilkada) is over, and it's time to move on and rise again. Moving on means accepting the election results and forgetting the political clashes that arose from disagreements between candidates. Meanwhile, rising from adversity means rising above the various crises, or multidimensional crises, we are currently facing. These crises include the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic crisis, and the environmental crisis caused by the waning commitment to nature conservation.

From an economic perspective, COVID-19 has devastated the global economy. In fact, nearly every economic sector has been devastated, and even now, economic recovery remains extremely slow and dramatic.

In Indonesia itself, the 2020 economy was initially predicted to grow by 5.3 percent year-on-year (yoy), exceeding the 5.02 percent growth achieved in 2019. However, the Indonesian economy contracted between 2.2 percent and 1.7 percent in 2020. A truly grim record. Given such alarming conditions and realities, Indonesia needs more than just recovery policies, but also policies capable of bringing about change, namely, a leap forward.

We are well aware that the health and economic crises must be resolved immediately, but that doesn't mean other issues are irrelevant or even ignored. Therefore, the biggest challenge for the winners of the 2020 regional elections is not only restoring conditions to normal but also overcoming the multidimensional crisis.

Environmental Crisis

Before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, environmental crises like the climate crisis were already a real and unavoidable threat. Extreme weather and frequent disasters, and even the emergence of COVID-19, are considered part of the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.

The World Economic Forum, in its research titled Global Risks Perception Survey 2019-2020, stated that the global economy will be hit by increasingly worrying environmental issues. This research stated that environmental issues, particularly those related to climate, dominate the top five long-term risk indicators in the likelihood category as the main obstacle to the global economy. These five indicators are: extreme weather , climate action failure , natural disasters , biodiversity loss , and human-made environmental disasters .

In Indonesia itself, the environmental crisis, which has fatal consequences for the climate crisis, is evident in the increasingly threatened condition of natural forests. This is not only due to the threat of forest and land fires (karhutla), but also to deforestation, large-scale investment expansion, land clearing, and many other threats.

Based on a study conducted by the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation, it was revealed that the nine provinces holding regional elections (elections for governor and deputy governor) have natural forests reaching 21 million hectares. Meanwhile, the 10 districts holding regional elections (elections for regent and deputy regent) are recorded as having more than 20 million hectares of natural forests.

This situation clearly illustrates that these nine provinces and 10 districts face a significant issue: forest sustainability, and this issue should be a key element in the candidates' visions and missions. Based on the total natural forest area, Madani's research categorizes these regions into four levels of deforestation and degradation risk: at-risk, threatened, highly threatened, and most threatened. The results indicate that across these nine provinces, 12.5 million hectares of natural forest are at risk; 2.6 million hectares are threatened; and 1.2 million hectares are highly threatened.

Central Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, and South Kalimantan are the provinces with the largest natural forest areas. Meanwhile, the most threatened category, covering 2.6 million hectares, also falls in Central Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, and South Kalimantan. At the district level, the 10 districts hosting regional elections with the largest natural forests account for 11.9 million hectares of at-risk natural forest, 1.23 million hectares of threatened natural forest, 521,000 hectares of severely threatened natural forest, and 3 million hectares of most threatened natural forest.

Sustainable Green Economy

These threats to natural forests should be a benchmark for the winners of future regional elections. A secure, ecologically based economy, or a sustainable green economy, must be the goal to overcome the crisis. In the author's opinion, a sustainable green economy model can begin by implementing several creative business models, encouraging independent innovation, and not relying solely on natural resource extraction, such as:

First , environmental services businesses. Increasing environmental damage will drive increased concern for the environment, which is what will enable positive growth in the future for environmental services businesses. For example, waste management businesses like waste banks. Besides saving and reducing the environmental burden of waste, waste banks can provide economic benefits.

Second , social forestry. This social forestry business model is the most appropriate step for the government to encourage community involvement in forest conservation. Social forestry itself can change the myth that forests are a curse to one that they are a blessing because, in addition to helping mitigate the impacts of climate change, forests also provide economic benefits.

Third , the development of new, renewable energy. Abandoning dirty energy and switching to environmentally friendly energy is inevitable. Sustainable energy sources are a key priority. Relying on fossil fuels is no longer relevant in the midst of a crisis like the current one. Switching to energy sources like solar panels is the best course of action.

Now, it is time for all parties to realize that the 2020 Simultaneous Regional Elections must be a momentum for elected regional heads to strengthen their commitment to protecting the environment, forests, and nature so that a sustainable green economy can be realized.

This concept not only creates a crisis-resilient economy but also contributes to achieving Indonesia's climate commitments in the forestry sector. Isn't this our dream for the future?

By: Delly Ferdian

Activist at the Sustainable Civil Foundation

This article was published on mongabay.co.id on January 5, 2020.