WALHI criticizes the target for economic growth in Indonesia: Don't chase numbers by damaging nature
Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI) responded to the statement of President Prabowo Subianto who wondered why Indonesia's economic growth at 5% was accompanied by an increase in poverty.
According to WALHI, this condition is not an economic mystery or an anomaly. Instead, it is a logical consequence of an extractive economic model that is environmentally destructive and deprives people of living space.
Previously, President Prabowo expressed his surprise at the closing of the NU 2026 Mubes and Konbes in Bangkalan, East Java, on Tuesday (23/6/2026).
Economic Growth of 5% is Considered Only an "Imaginary Number"
WALHI's National Executive Director, Boy Jerry Even Sembiring, stated that the President's surprise should be answered with the courage to dismantle the development indicators that the government has been using.
Boy assessed that the 5% economic growth that is often displayed every quarter is only an abstract statistic that is disconnected from the reality of people's lives at the grassroots level (grass roots).
"The 5 percent growth figure and even the 8 percent target are imaginary. This happens because the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) only focuses on capital accumulation, namely how much natural resources are extracted," said Boy.
Large-scale activities such as coal dredging, mine expansion, nickel downstream, to palm oil plantation expansion have been considered economic achievements. However, WALHI considers these industries to ignore ecosystem sustainability.
"For people at the grassroots level, the growth rate has no meaning when clean water is polluted, fishing areas are narrowed, and living space is forcibly seized by corporations," he continued.
Failure of Extractive Investment and Structural Poverty
WALHI assessed President Prabowo's statement that the system in Indonesia is wrong - where state wealth flows abroad - is an empirical recognition of the failure of the national economic approach.
Until now, the government has always been considered to give a "red carpet" to large-scale extractive investments with the assumption that welfare will trickle down to the lowest layers of society (trickle-down effect). However, this assumption is considered a total failure.
Real Impact on the Field:
Concentration of Wealth: Economic benefits are only enjoyed by a few people (oligarchy). Ecological Disaster: The mining and industrial circle community only receives waste and the impact of natural damage. Structural Poverty: There is displacement of customary areas and people's management space which triggers new poverty.WALHI's insistence: Leave GDP, switch to Ecological Justice
Seeing this inequality, WALHI urges President Prabowo to make a major overhaul in the indicators of Indonesia's economic success.
"The president must stop using GDP as the only measure of a country's success. The government needs to switch to a welfare indicator based on ecological justice, human rights, and the sovereignty of people's living space," Boy added.
New Policy Recommendations for the Government
To change the direction of the Indonesian economy from an extractive dependence to sustainability (well-being), WALHI asks the government to implement three main points:
Recognition of the Rights of Nature (Rights of Nature): Placing the environment not as a commodity, but as an entity that must be protected. Intergenerational Rights: Ensuring that natural resources are not exhausted today and leaving behind damage for future generations. Strengthening the People's Economy: Providing certainty of management areas for local communities and full protection of ecosystems.WALHI emphasized that the government's real commitment today is challenged to no longer pursue imaginary growth figures if the stakes are the future of the earth and the people of Indonesia.