Bosman Batubara through his long research on Jakarta's floods and his personal reflection on rural-to-urban migration argues for a political ecology of urbanization. He has contributed greatly to the scholarship of urban water. I remember the debates organized by Bharat Punjabi, published by IJURR in 2015 to response to the important contribution of Karren Bakker, Privatizing Water. In these debates, one commentator Vinay Gidwani points at an area that could be improved in Karen Bakker's book, that is an analysis about the dialectic of city and country as intertwined ecologies. To me, Bosman Batubara has responded to Gidwani's call. This conversation was done in Bahasa Indonesia.
---
Theme music:
Solidas by Marjinal. The music was created during the solidarity action in Berlin, which was organized by the band on 18 February 2022. The solidarity evening was meant to support the struggles of communities in Indonesia against land grabbing and environmental degradation caused by the mining industry. Specific dedication in that evening was for the farming community in Wadas, whose village was destroyed by stone mining. The mining supplies the material to build a new large dam that had been long planned by the national government to supply water and energy for the new international airport in Southern Java.
Opening music:
Biru Beriak by Lair from Jatiwangi, West Java. The music is dedicated to fisherfolk communities.
Season music:
Jakarta by Mardika (Revolt Music)
