Is sustainable development possible? By Frans Anggal THE world convened in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio to develop a global plan for the sustainable development of the Earth.    Sustainable development is "development that does not destroy or undermine the ecological, economic or social basis on which continued development depends".    There are five main issues of sustainable development: population growth, agriculture, water management, pest control, and education.      The summit produced five major multinational agreements. The documents include a section that encompasses the role of the indigenous peoples.    Principle 22 of the Rio Declaration states that "Indigenous peoples and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. States should recognise and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development".    The four primary issues of the indigenous peoples: - their intellectual property rights to biotechnology sourced in their territory be protected, - their sovereign rights over their culture be preserved, - their territory and environment be protected from exploitation and pollution, - education and research programs for sustainable development be strengthened    Can sustainable development be achieved in a developing nation comprised of indigenous peoples? The answer to this question is yes.    A model example of a developing nation of indigenous people is Indonesia, where the primary goal is to achieve sustainable development.    The primary objective of Indonesia was to become self sustaining to feed its growing population. During the 1950's and 1960's, the buzz words "sustainable development" were not yet prominent in global discussions and Indonesia developed its resources at an unprecedented growth rate. During this period, the evolution of sustainable development is best illustrated by comparing and contrasting two specific regions within Indonesia, the islands of Java and Bali.    The summary differences between Java and Bali are that Java is primarily a region of intensified agriculture and sophisticated technology, whereas Bali is a region of traditional horticulture based on simpler cultural technology and practises sustainable agriculture.    Present day Indonesia has a population that exceeds 200 million people. The majority of the population is located on Java and Bali. The common objective of Java and Bali is to be self-sufficient concerning food production and economic stability, both areas have evolved towards sustainable development in very different ways.    Agricultural development in Bali temporarily adopted advanced technology during the 1970's and 1980's, but reverted to the traditional agricultural techniques due to the visible impact on their ecosystem. Agricultural planting, watering and harvesting schedules are controlled by the subak, which is a community based co-operative organisation that is under the authority of the religious doctrines.    Rice production in Bali remains non-mechanised and under the control of the subak. Bali did expand crop production on a subsistence level to include coffee and some fruits and spices for domestic use. The most significant aspect of agriculture in Bali is the lack of mention of environmental degradation in ethnology's published by anthropologists from the 1950's through the 1990's, who have studied culture in Bali. There are no accounts of soil erosion, degradation, salinization, water pollution, depletion of the aquifer, or salt water encroachment written about agriculture on Bali.    Agricultural development in Java expanded to produce plantation style cash crops including sugar, rubber and coffee. The government modernised land ownership in the 1980's restricting the size of land ownership depending on the population density. Intensified agricultural methods included Green Revolution rice technology, high yield rice seed varieties, expanded irrigation, double crop planting, and extensive use of fertilisers and pesticides.    Development in Java has been at a high cost to the environment. Extensive expansion of irrigation systems and double cropping have overtapped the natural aquifer causing the seawater to infiltrate further inland. Industrialisation and urbanisation on the coastal estuaries have raised pollution levels to unsanitary levels and polluted fish and shrimp ponds. Indonesia is in the process of building ten waste water treatment plants, and five of these plants will be located on the island of Java. It is important to note that none of these water treatment plants are required to be built on Bali, the second most densely populated region of Indonesia, because of Bali's sustainable development and management of it's water resources.    Java has also experienced serious soil degradation in the form of erosion and nutrient depletion. This has led to the conclusion that if more farmers in Java practised the intensive and sustainable agriculture that has been standard in Bali, then much of Java's devastated land could be rejuvenated into a garden isle like Bali.    Bali is a model example of sustainable development. The government of Indonesia, pursuant to the Earth Summit '92, announced the creation of two new ministries in 1993, the State Ministry of the Environment and the Environmental Control Agency whose broad mandate is sustainable development and environmental rehabilitation. A key component of the sustainable development program is a network of environmental study centres at 27 universities across Indonesia and the construction of the Environment Management Centre on Java.    Sustainable development is the primary goal of the government of Indonesia. Bali achieved sustainable development because, due to it's small size, Bali quickly recognised the damage that intensified Sagriculture was causing to it's fragile ecosystem when development exceeded carrying capacity resulting in ecological crisis. In contrast, Java did not recognise the environmental degradation that was being caused by intensified agriculture because the larger land area facilitated continued growth until Java reached it's present state of ecological degradation.    Fortunately, the government of Indonesia is working fervently to regain ecological balance and develop an "Environmental Master Plan". Indonesia can learn from it's own mistakes in Java, from mistakes in the western industrialised nations and most importantly from hope generated at the global conference, Earth Summit '92. One has to only look at the small garden isle of Bali to realised that sustainable development is possible, both for Bali and the small isle of Earth floating in the heavens of our universe. Frans Anggal, chief editor, Flores Pos daily newspaper in Ende, Flores, Indonesia, took part in the APJC/AusAID 2007 Reporting Economic Affairs program as an Australian Leadership Awards fellow.