Impacts of climate change and mineral fertilizers overuse in Indonesia

Nitrogen is an important agricultural input that is critical for the production. However, the introduction of large amounts of nitrogen into the environment has a number of undesirable impacts such as: the loss of biodiversity, eutrophication of waters and soils, drinking water pollution, acidification, greenhouse gas emissions, human health risks. It is a challenge to guarantee and increase food production and at the same time reduce losses of reactive nitrogen to the environment, but there are many potential benefits associated with improving nitrogen use efficiency. To address agriculture growth production and food security, the Indonesian government encouraged for several years farmers to increase their production by providing subsidized fertilizers. The subsidies contribute to an increased use of fertilizers, which in many cases has resulted in an overuse that has a negative impact on yields and environment. In Indonesia, the water quality decreased consistently in the last three decades and agriculture emissions such as nitrogen and phosphorous are the principal pollutants. The consequence is that the agriculture and environment is extremely vulnerable to climate change, and floods event are one of the main drivers of nitrate losses in the environment. The aim of this review is to highlight the relationship between climate change events such us flooding and the water contamination caused by mineral fertilizers overuse in Indonesia agriculture. Reducing nutrient losses from the agriculture production is crucial to the successful implementation of agri-environmental policy.