Indonesian journalist chronicles environmental crisis from smoky childhood in kalimantan to polluted life in jakarta

Indonesia’s vast environmental challenges span more than 17,000 islands and encompass the world’s third-largest tropical rainforest, but for those living through the crisis, the impact is deeply personal and immediate. The country’s resource-driven economy has dramatically transformed its landscape, creating environmental consequences that millions of Indonesians experience in their daily lives—from children breathing yellowed, smoke-filled air to Jakarta residents tasting metallic pollution with every breath.

Sapariah “Arie” Saturi, managing editor of Mongabay Indonesia, has witnessed this environmental transformation firsthand throughout her life. Growing up along the Kapuas River in West Kalimantan during the 1990s, she experienced childhood under a region dominated by peatlands and forests increasingly pressured by timber, palm oil, and mining operations. Dry seasons regularly brought devastating fires and haze so thick it muffled sound and drained color from the landscape, forcing children to adapt to burning eyes and toxic air without the protection of masks, which were uncommon at the time.

Now living in Jakarta, Saturi faces different but equally pressing environmental challenges. Indonesia’s capital city sinks measurably each year while traffic congestion and air pollution create new health hazards for residents. Even brief exposure to outdoor air leaves chemical residues that cling to clothing and curtains, serving as constant reminders of the urban environmental crisis.

Saturi’s journey from Kalimantan’s fire-prone peatlands to Jakarta’s polluted streets reflects the broader environmental story of modern Indonesia, where development’s costs are measured not just in statistics but in the lived experiences of millions adapting to a rapidly changing environment.