Tanah Air Indonesia is how we proudly call our archipelago, which literally means lands and waters in Indonesia that are inter-connected creating an array of magnificent and rich nature.Indonesia has the longest coastal area in the world with around 17,508 islands spanning along the equator for over 5,000 kilometers. It is the world’s largest archipelago with a total land area of 1,812,108 km2 or 699,658 sq. miles. The sea makes up 60% 0f Indonesia’s 8.5 million square-kilometer area and carries one of the richest presentations of marine biodiversity in the world.The Wallace Line was named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who observed a clear dividing line during his 19th century expedition through the East Indies. It was actually referred to a boundary separating the ecozone of Asia and the Australasian ecozone. It runs through Indonesia, between Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sulawesi (Celebes); and through the Lombok Strait between Bali (in the west) and Lombok (in the east). Plants and animals related to Asian species are found to the north-west, while Australasian species are found mainly to the south-east, with some Asian species.Indonesia is blessed with a wealth of flora and fauna. Its oceans are known as the nursery of the seas supporting 25% of the world’s fish species while new species are still being discovered until today. Its lands have approximately 381 mammal species, 771 bird species and 449 reptile and amphibian species. Meanwhile, there are many kinds of flora of around 28,000 flowering plant species including 2,500 orchids, 6,000 medicinal plants, 122 bamboo species, 350 rattan species and 400 dipterocarp species like ebony, sandalwood and teakwood. These facts put Indonesia as one of the mega-biodiversity countries in the world.
Thus, the people of Indonesia believe that there should be a balance of what you take from nature and how show respect and gratitude towards the plentiful land and waters. For many years, this perception has been embedded in their ways of life, in their cultures and traditions through sustainable natural resource management.
