Progress and promise for science in Indonesia

To represent Indonesian science, this regional special feature contains four articles reporting original research: Combining environmental DNA and visual surveys can inform conservation planning for coral reefs (1), Refining greenhouse gas emission factors for Indonesian peatlands and mangroves to meet ambitious climate targets (2), Balancing economic and ecological functions in smallholder and industrial oil palm plantations (3), and Impacts of fire and prospects for recovery in a tropical peat forest ecosystem (4). Focused on biodiversity and climate change, the research is based on the unique geology and biology of this nation. A fifth article in this special feature, written by 10 of Indonesia’s leading “young scientists,” reflects on the role of science in Indonesia’s future, as the population of their Muslim-majority nation approaches 300 million (5).

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, stretching for more than 3,000 miles (5,120 kilometers) between the continents of Asia and Australia. Connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans, the Indonesian Throughflow is a global ocean current that produces the largest movement of water on the planet, with a major impact on global climate (6). Indonesia’s more than 17,600 islands vary in size from only a few square kilometers to the largest island in Papua, and they are one of the reasons why its species endemicity is among highest in the world. Thus, it is estimated that Indonesia’s tropical rainforest is home to approximately 300,000 species of wildlife (7). There has been massive deforestation and land degradation, and Indonesia currently contains about 10% of the world’s remaining tropical forests (8)

The worldwide international scientific community has long been fascinated by the Indonesian archipelago as a laboratory of natural history. An interest in Indonesia’s mega-biodiversity, especially as the origin of the spice route for clove, nutmeg, and mace, brought European traders to the archipelago in the late 16th and early 17th century. In addition, with it came the introduction of Western science, prominently seen in the work of Jacobus Bontius, widely regarded as a pioneer of tropical medicine (9), and of Georg Eberhard Rumphius, whose extensive catalog of the plants of the island of Amboina was published posthumously (10).

It was the biodiversity of the Indonesian archipelago that inspired Alfred Russel Wallace two centuries later to come up with natural selection based on survival of the fittest as the basis of the evolution of life forms, a year before the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (11). It also led to the development of biogeography, with Wallace’s legendary description of an imaginary line between the islands of Bali and Lombok, and between Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sulawesi, in which he recognized two separate and wildly different worlds of fauna (12).

The cure for beriberi was first described in the medical literature by Bontius, and an outbreak at the end of the nineteenth century led to the discovery of thiamine deficiency as its cause, marking the beginning of the science of vitamins. Subsequently, there were significant scientific activities in a wide range of the natural sciences, including a notable involvement of Indonesian physician-scientists in medical research (13–16).

Unfortunately, the major scientific achievements of the past have had very little impact on current scientific thought and practice in postcolonial Indonesia. The Indonesian government continues to underinvest in science, and a multitude of policies and institutional reforms since independence, quite promisingly during the decade of economic growth before the Asian financial crisis of 1998 (17), have failed to achieve scientific excellence. The resources that the government devotes to scientific research are poorly managed, making it hard to use the limited funds effectively (18, 19). This failure has been attributed by others to the enduring colonial-era state control that regulates scientific activities so extensively that it smothers individuals, institutions, and scientific ideals (20). For whatever reason, the country’s science ecosystem sector has been severely damaged by authoritarian legacies that tend to produce results that are short-term, myopic, and reactive. Thus, for those who wish to pursue fundamental research, the government only offers a series of one-year grants, for a maximum of 150 million rupiah ($9500); the number for applied research is 500 million rupiah ($32,000). Moreover, the funds awarded must be spent exactly as specified in the initial grant application.

Frontier science today requires sophisticated, expensive equipment that is mostly not available in Indonesia; it also requires flexible multiyear funding to accommodate the many surprises that arise in the midst of any ambitious research program. These deficiencies in Indonesia’s support for science explain why scientists in Indonesia often need to collaborate with scientists with more resources. Thus, as for our four research papers, the best Indonesian science frequently involves international collaborators.

Special Feature Research Contributions

As reviewers have pointed out, the research articles in this special issue represent important contributions to our understanding, as the world attempts to reduce the harmful effects of the enormous human population on the environment. And like most science, each article helps to define areas where more research is badly needed.

Muenzel et al. report the results of an extensive survey of coral reefs across the Wallacea region of Indonesia, a large geographical area famous for its enormous biodiversity (1). Using data from 147 different reefs, they compare the results from visual surveys carried out by expert scuba divers to an analysis of the species detected by sequencing DNA samples collected at reef sites. Not surprisingly, the latter environmental DNA barcoding “(eDNA)” method detects the largest number of species, including organisms invisible to the naked eye. The authors then attempt to use their data to optimize the selection of marine-protected areas: that is, the sites where no fishing is to be allowed. Their calculations, designed to minimize the disruption of marine livelihoods while protecting at least 30% of detected species, reveal that the best results can be obtained using data from a combination of eDNA and visual surveys. This finding suggests that the ability to protect marine biodiversity can be improved by research focused on expanding the DNA reference database, as will be needed to assign a much larger fraction of the eDNA results to specific species.

Murdiyarso et al. present a comprehensive overview of the greenhouse gas emission factors (EFs) for Indonesia’s extensive tropical wetlands, with a focus on peat forests and mangroves—two carbon-dense ecosystems that face tremendous pressure from human activities and release a major fraction of the nation’s greenhouse gases (2). Improved procedures for calculating these EFs have been developed, as needed for the accurate subnational monitoring, accounting, and verification required by international climate mitigation programs. Included are details for Indonesia’s oil palm plantations. Future challenges are described and new research proposed, with findings that are important not only for Indonesia but for other nations as well.

Wenzel et al. focus on Indonesia’s many oil palm plantations, which produce oil for both food and fuel and are now critical for millions of livelihoods. Differentiating between the many smallholder plantations and large commercial efforts, the authors present data derived from 42 study plots in Sumatra (3). Their results demonstrate how different plantation management schemes affect the balance between ecological benefits and oil palm yields, revealing that environmental improvement is possible without reducing yields. They end their analysis by presenting separate sets of “win–win” recommendations for smallholders and for industrial estates.

Harrison et al. have examined the effects that repeated human-produced, high-intensity fires have had on the ecological properties of a tropical peat forest ecosystem in Indonesian Borneo (4). Reporting on data obtained from extensive surveys of the same 320 square kilometer peat-swamp site conducted over 16 years, they detail how these fires have altered both the ecosystem and the biodiversity of this tropical forest. By comparing recently burnt, old burnt, and unburnt forests, the authors have examined both the direct fire effects on the forest and how repeated nearby fires have affected unburnt areas. Their paper includes five supplementary tables and 14 supplementary figures that present data for a large number of different species of plants and animals, thereby providing detailed insights into the impacts of fire on tropical ecosystems and their potential for recovery. They conclude that forested tropical ecosystems are highly vulnerable to recurrent, high-intensity fires, and that “management actions may be required to break fire feedback loops and prevent arrested succession.”

Special Feature Policy Contribution

The final article in this regional special feature, written by a group of 10 of Indonesia’s leading “young scientists,” reflects on Indonesia’s future and the remarkable initiatives that the authors and colleagues have taken as a group to improve it. As is clear from this article, Reflecting on Indonesia’s Young Academy Movement (5), Indonesia is fortunate to have many young scientists who are willing to devote the enormous time and effort that will be required to produce a better future for Indonesia. Most will have received at least some training abroad, which enables them to contrast Indonesia’s policies for science with those in nations that are more advanced scientifically. In addition, their efforts take advantage of the fact that, speaking generally, politicians in Indonesia appear to be more interested in interacting with groups of younger scientists than with the older scientists who have been their mentors, a phenomenon also observed in other nations (see for example, ref. 21).

The young scientists have published their vision of the science priorities for Indonesia in a science agenda, SAINS45, which presents 45 fundamental questions critical for the future they want for Indonesia in 2045—the 100th anniversary of the country’s independence (22). The nation’s mega-biodiversity is central to this agenda which addresses issues that range from Community Resilience and Identity and Diversity to Health, Water, Food, Energy, and Climate. Their sequel to SAINS45, Science for Indonesian Biodiversity, describes the vision of Indonesia’s young scientists for exploiting the mega-biodiversity that arises from Indonesia’s unique geological features (23): in particular, its Wallacea region that has never been connected to either the Asian or Australian continents. Important for medicine, these geological features have influenced the pattern of ancient human migration, producing the genetic characteristics of Indonesia’s ethnic populations.

As made clear in their article, despite the remarkable initiatives that the authors and their many colleagues have taken, the Indonesian government continues to underinvest in science. To make matters worse, the resources that the government devotes to scientific research are distributed and managed in ways that substantially reduce its effectiveness (18, 19). To end this overview, we expand on the central issue that they raise concerning the role of science in Indonesia’s future.

Science Support in Indonesia

Due to its archipelagic uniqueness, location, natural history, endemicity, biodiversity, and cultural diversity, Indonesia offers vast opportunities for research in subjects that include geology, oceanography, anthropology, evolutionary biology, island biogeography, conservation ecology, climate science, and many more. In addition, Indonesia's vibrant democracy, relative political stability, and emerging middle-income status generate research in areas such as political ecology, political economy, and international trade. Indonesia also hosts many projects that are either bilaterally or multilaterally funded and motivated by global agendas: such as those on human rights, climate change, sustainability, timber legality, wildlife trade, one health, and forest fires. These donor-driven projects closely involve local communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and local governments—thus producing unique sociopolitical and anthropological research. In short, there are ample opportunities for Indonesians to advance the development of science and knowledge globally. What is missing is adequate merit-based funding for Indonesian scientists and researchers.

Indonesia's research and development (R&D) spending is relatively low compared to other countries. In 2013, Indonesia spent only about 0.08 percent of its GDP on R&D (24). The Jokowi administration increased this spending to 0.2% in 2017, the highest in the country's history (25), but this number is an order of magnitude lower than the average of 2.42% for OECD countries or for Indonesia’s neighbors Singapore (1.9%) and China (2.12%) in the same year (26).

Another problem with research support in Indonesia was summarized in a 50-page report supported by The World Bank and Australian AID, entitled Creating an Indonesian Science Fund (19), which in 2014 pointed out that “In Indonesia, only 38% of the total support for R&D goes to the universities; 43% goes to the government agencies. In other words, research support is presently not concentrated in those institutions in which most scientists, students, and nearly all the PhD researchers are employed.” Partly as a result, applied research is overly emphasized, without adequate support for the basic scientific research that is needed to generate the new ideas and approaches that feed it.

In response to the 2014 report, the Indonesian government supported the establishment of a new type of Indonesian Science Fund, Dana Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (DIPI) in 2015. Modeled after the mechanisms that are widely used to support scientific research in other nations, DIPI was designed to provide competitively awarded three-year research grants that are large enough to allow equipment purchases, while also removing the stifling restrictions previously described (27). With the promise of 44 million dollars for funding DIPI’s initial year, two open competitions were held in 2016, both evaluated by a mixture of international and Indonesian scientists. More than 250 applications were received for the competition in “Life, Health, and Nutrition”, and 12 top-ranked applications were selected (half led by Indonesian scientists under the age of 45). A similar number were chosen for a competition in the area of “Identity, Diversity, and Culture”. In the following years, similar nationwide merit-based competitions were to be held in each of six other areas. However, the effort quickly collapsed, because the government agency that had been called on to fund these grants withdrew. As a result, all of the problems presented in the 2014 report remain.

The Support of Outstanding Basic Science Is Critical for Indonesia's Future

Indonesia’s leaders have repeatedly stressed the goal of making their country an “innovation nation,” sending delegations to the United States and elsewhere to help them create policies to achieve that goal. These delegations must have been introduced to the critical report that set the United States on the path to success, Science the Endless Frontier (28). Written by Vannevar Bush at the request of President Roosevelt, it led to the formation of the US NSF in 1950, a new institution designed to fund basic science through the merit-based funding of competitive grant proposals. As, Bush had emphasized, “the most important ways in which the Government can promote industrial research are to increase the flow of new scientific knowledge through support of basic research, and to aid in the development of scientific talent. … Basic research leads to new knowledge. It provides scientific capital. It creates the fund from which the practical applications of knowledge must be drawn. New products and new processes do not appear full-grown. They are founded on new principles and new conceptions, which in turn are painstakingly developed by research in the purest realms of science. … A nation which depends upon others for its new basic scientific knowledge will be slow in its industrial progress and weak in its competitive position in world trade, regardless of its mechanical skill.“

Bush also urged that most of the needed basic research should be carried out in universities, not in government laboratories. This has the advantage of constantly producing new young scientists with outstanding science and engineering skills, many of whom will subsequently focus on applied research in the private sector. As Bush would have forecast, today's centers of industrial innovation in the United States have grown up around its very best research universities. It is these universities that provide the energetic and ambitious students expert in basic science who graduate with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to form thousands of new companies.

Why should Indonesia support basic scientific research? The people, methods, and ideas at the frontiers of scientific discovery have produced a vigorous international community that is invaluable for driving the economic development of every modern nation. However, Indonesia can only exploit this rich resource if its own chemists, physicists, earth scientists, biologists, and engineers are an integral part of this rapidly advancing community—working as colleagues with the leaders in each of these fields. This will require outstanding local universities and research institutions in Indonesia that pursue fundamental discovery. To become an innovation nation, the Indonesian government must devote the substantial resources needed to equip, support, and maintain world-class fundamental research in sciences and engineering. In addition, to ensure that these resources are well used, it will need its own NSF-like institution—a granting agency that distributes resources through the same type of merit-based competitions that have now become standard in other successful nations.

Conclusion

The Indonesian government recognizes the importance of science and technology in achieving its Vision Indonesia 2045, which includes “human development and mastery of science and technology” as one of its four pillars. However, it remains to be seen whether this vision will translate into a strong budget for science. Improving the way that research funds are distributed will also be critical. The new development of a super body for science funding (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, widely known as BRIN) has created confusion, with some researchers expressing concerns about the government's understanding and respect for their work and the need for accountability in science funding and governance (29). But with a new government being installed following the February 2024 elections, there is hope for many improvements.

In closing, it is important to note that the universality of scientific core values and products have made science essential for humanity. The pursuit of science must not be limited to establishing knowledge of the natural world; it should include a clear vision of a world living on a wisdom born out of that growing knowledge. The quality of science education and scientific research are keys to achieving these aims. The latter in particular, requires a genuine collaboration, ensuring that world-class research quality is not only the domain of advanced countries. While all humans are endowed with mental capacity, unequal opportunities and nurture still inhibit the potential in developing countries. Minding and closing the gap in scientific knowledge and research quality are needed more now than ever before, as civilization has reached a new level of complexity and is demanding more natural resources. Indonesia, being one of the developing giants in a global network, should be a champion in moving forward to a scientifically inspired future.