news
Indonesia's new capital threatens rainforest soundscapes
Indonesia's plan to build its new capital, Nusantara, in Borneo, is destroying swathes of rainforest. Scientists are now racing to record the unique sounds of the forest before its biodiversity vanishes. It's a stark reminder of how human development impacts natural ecosystems and the sensory inputs we rely on for nervous system regulation.
Indonesia's plan to build its new capital, Nusantara, in Borneo, is destroying swathes of rainforest. Scientists are now racing to record the unique sounds of the forest before its biodiversity vanishes. It's a stark reminder of how human development impacts natural ecosystems and the sensory inputs we rely on for nervous system regulation.
The architecture take
I used to think climate issues felt abstract, like something happening to 'the environment' out there, separate from my own nervous system. But this push to record rainforest sounds before they're gone? That hits differently. Humans aren't just built for silence or city noise. Our brains evolved with specific soundscapes — chirps, rustles, distant calls. Take that away, especially the complex, non-threatening kind you get from a thriving ecosystem, and you're messing with a core regulatory input. My body relies on varied, non-threatening sensory information to feel safe and calm. We talk about 'nature deficit disorder' in terms of light and movement, but sound is a huge part of that. The nervous system doesn't just register absence; it registers the loss of something it expects. Imagine growing up with a specific kind of 'background noise' to your days, then it just disappears. That's a deep shift in baseline. This isn't just about preserving species; it's about what we lose on a primal level. I'm watching to see if 'sound preservation' becomes a new climate movement, not just for the animals, but for us.