Indonesia vs. Guinness Book: Deforestation Smackdown

So who's right?

For the second consecutive year, the Guinness Book of World Records has given Indonesia the dubious title as the nation with the highest rate of deforestation in the world. That works out to 52 square kilometers per day, 300 football fields every hour.

The Indonesian government, not surprisingly, is crying foul. They say only about a million hectares a year is being cleared, not the 1.8 million that the Guinness Book suggests, which draws on data from environmental organziations like Greenpeace. Yale University, by the way, had its own rankings of environmentally friendly countries, which ranked Indonesia an anemic 102nd out of 149 nations.

If enough data is arrayed against you, and you're complaining about every result, it sounds like you're (what's called in the political world) 'gaming the refs'. Maybe the government should quit whining about rankings, and try to aim for better results. If your defense is that you're "only" clearing a million hectares a year, it's hard to sympathize ...

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Um, everybody stop

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Chateau Petrus with your nasi goreng?

Fine wine's always been an interest of mine. As evidenced by my recent article in the Financial Times, in which I recount how owning cases of great Bordeaux is much more satisfying than seeing your shares in Lehman Brothers drop to nothingess. (And provides healthy returns, too.)

I never realized it was a real interest in Indonesia, though, until I saw this article from Reuters. Apparently wine classes, vintage tastings, and wine-savvy bars are sprouting up throughout Jakarta. Notes to local aficionados: Chicken satay goes well with port, while goat pairs nicely with Australian shiraz. Lamb with coconut milk? Think California chardonnay.

More power to local wine lovers, since quaffing a great Lafite-Rothschild or Margaux is one of life's inestimable pleasures. But I thought Muslim law was pretty clear on the subject: No alcohol. As such Indonesia still has among the lowest per-capita wine consumption in Asia, at less than a litre a year (as compared to those grape-loving Singaporeans). All the more for me ...

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Uh oh: The meltdown continues

It's often said that if the American economy gets the sniffles, the rest of the world catches the flu. So what happens if it's the U.S. that catches the flu, and in a bad way? Does that put every other economy on their deathbeds, calling their lawyer to put together a final will and testament?

We'll soon find out. Indonesia's composite index fell around 10% in a single day Monday, the kind of drop that would have American market commentators running for their bottles of Maalox. (Even the 777-point Dow plummet the other day wasn't as big as that, percentage-wise.) One culprit is that Indonesian inflation is running at a two-year high of 12%, worrying enough to practically guarantee more hikes in interest rates, which are already lofty at over 9%.

But the core worry is that global stock markets are undergoing a rout of historic proportions, and investors are fleeing for shore - away from emerging markets and dodgy currencies, and towards money-market funds, government treasury bonds, gold, and not a whole lot else. Contracting economies means less energy consumption which means Indonesian commodity concerns, like coal companies, get hammered. Only thing to do is batten down the hatches and hope that the storm passes, with your house still standing ...

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Plight of the Treeman

It's not every day that Indonesia makes American primetime television schedules. But check out the Discovery Channel this Sunday for the story of the 'Treeman,' a fascinating tale of bizarre science - and touching cross-border cooperation.

The treeman's real name is Dede, a rural villager not far from Bandung, and he became famous worldwide because of a condition that caused bark-and root-like growths over much of his body. American dermatologist Anthony Gaspari of the University of Maryland sympathized with his plight (on top of everything else, his wife left him), and travelled to Java to help Dede find the root cause.

Medical testing revealed that the growths were plain old warts, or HPV ... but because of his low count of white blood cells, they had been able to run wild over his body, instead of being kept in check by normal antibodies. Apparently with an ongoing course of treatment - although not without conflict between doctors like Gaspari, and Indonesian authorities - Dede has already seen remarkable improvement, and is on track to regain some semblance of a normal life. Learn more about the shocking Discovery episode here.


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From the bloody obvious department
Insert MILF joke here
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A real-estate bull market?!

As CNBC host/lunatic Jim Cramer is fond of saying, there's always a bull market somewhere. Exhibit A, Indonesian real estate. In America right now home prices are reaching new lows every quarter, as the long-forgotten housing boom continues to deflate. Oh, and no one can get a mortgage anymore. Because no one has any money, at all.

But I digress. In Indonesia at the moment, real estate seems to be doing just fine, thank you very much. Check out this article, in which Housing Minister Yusuf Asy'hari points out to Reuters that investors - fed up with paltry returns on their bank deposits - are gravitating towards the solidity (and inflation hedge?) of housing. Indeed, prices are up 12% in a year, says the Indonesia Property Study Center.

Such real-estate price pressures aren't all that surprising if you're cramming in 230 million people, most on the island of Java that's only about the size of Mississippi. Asian-property bulls beware, though, that real estate doesn't always go up ... and when it eventually comes back to Earth, as the credit crunch leaks across the Pacific, the carnage could be brutal. Take one look at American foreclosure stats right now, and maybe keeping your money in plain ol' bank accounts isn't that stupid after all.

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Mohon Ma'af

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Next medical tourism hotspot: Indonesia?

Healthcare in the U.S. may be a total nightmare. Ironically, though, that botched system represents a major opportunity for many Asian countries.

That's because if you build a five-star medical facility, Western patients will come, in search of quality care at a fraction of the cost. Just look at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok (pictured at left), famed for its marble floors and resort-like amenities. Or Johns Hopkins' outpost in Singapore, or Wockhardt hospitals in India. If an American or British traveller can get a hip replacement or a major heart operation by Western-trained doctors, recuperate in a luxury hotel for a couple of weeks, and still save 50% on the total bill, it's hard to fault them for it.

Indonesia's obviously seen the writing on the healthcare wall, because now there's news that a number of world-class medical facilities are in the works. Meant for Indonesia's own upper-class clientele, but surely designed with one eye towards international visitors. It's a shame such top-notch care won't be available to the public at large, but then, that's no different from the American story ...

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