SINGAPORE -- As a child, Syukriyatun Niamah was encouraged by her father to explore the beauty of Indonesia through camping and climbing. What she remembers was pollution: plastic waste strewn about in the open.
While the most populous nation in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations possesses tourism gems like the idyllic resort island of Bali, discarded waste -- a byproduct of the country's rapid economic development -- has taken the shine off its otherwise attractive landscapes. Plastic packaging peppers some of Indonesia's rivers, at times clogging up waterways.
