Kalimantan's Forest Sounds Shift Amidst New Capital Construction, Indigenous Voices Emerge

As Indonesia develops its new capital, Nusantara (IKN), in the mountainous region of East Kalimantan, the sounds of the rainforest, long an integral part of the life and culture of the Balik Indigenous community, are beginning to change. A new documentary film, 'Sound Guardians,' a collaboration between Mongabay, Scientific American, and Project Multatuli, seeks to document the condition of these forests with the involvement of scientists and local residents. The relocation of the administrative center from Jakarta was initiated by former President Joko Widodo. Jakarta is predicted to be one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world, with one-third of its area potentially submerged by 2050 due to rising sea levels and excessive groundwater exploitation. Meanwhile, IKN officials describe Nusantara as a 'smart forest city' targeted for completion in 2045. Wendy Erb, a bioacoustics scientist from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the United States, has been recording the soundscape of Kalimantan's forests for the past decade, including during the construction of IKN. Her team has collected recordings from various points, from mountaintops, mangrove forests, to caves. Erb refers to this collection of data as a 'time capsule' that allows researchers to compare environmental changes alongside the pace of economic growth and development. This data has the potential to reveal the most impacted areas, where wildlife is beginning to be displaced from its habitat. 'Perhaps that's where more conservation investment needs to be directed,' Erb stated in the documentary. 'The question is, can we sharpen our hearing? Can we truly pay attention, realize that nature is suffering?' For Abidin, a member of the Balik Indigenous community and a resident of Pemaluan, a village in the IKN area, the sounds of the forest are not just ordinary 'ambience' but a pillar of his livelihood. He feels that the changing forest sounds are evidence of the erosion of their traditional knowledge and cultural heritage. This project captures the impact of development on the environment from a unique auditory perspective, bridging scientific data with the experiences of local residents, and raising questions about the future of sustainable development.