What stands in the way of sustainable development?
The discourse of sustainable development has been interpreted in various ways since it was introduced in the early 1990s. Since then, the government has generally seen it as a way to promote the importance of environmental agenda in development. However, it is clear that policy makers and the general public have understood the term 'sustainable development' differently. If you look at Jakarta, for example, in pursuing what it understands as sustainable development, government projects have neglected other important socio-economic dimensions of development. This affects those who have limited access to resource and knowledge most. So, broadly speaking, it is this discord between policy makers and the general public on defining sustainable development that poses a big challenge.
Should there be a distinction between growth and development, in order to achieve sustainability?
I think there should be. In case of Jakarta, for example, the city has been growing very rapidly for twenty years and mostly driven by the logic of the market supporting mainly economic growth. Almost 50% of green areas have been transformed into built-up areas for industry, residential, and commercial use, to accommodate urbanisation in the city.
