A complex system of subsidies and price controls has limited investment, particularly in resources like coal and natural gas.
The area is rich in resources like gold, diamonds, copper, tin and the metallic ore coltan, but still desperately poor because most minerals are stolen by renegade soldiers.
Even if the lawyers and lobbyists all worked free, though, the case would be a costly one for Indonesia, a country rich in resources like oil, gas, coal and timber but mired in economic stagnation and hungry for foreign investment.
One idea is that volcanic inputs rich in resources like iron or phosphorus, which are commonly at low levels in surface waters of the North Pacific, might be fueling phytoplankton growth.
The fledging Somali government is also pouring in resources, like a new transmitter that will expand coverage from a few miles to more than 60, because Radio Mogadishu is seen as a key piece of its hearts-and-minds strategy to pull the public over to the government's side.
Better bike access and improvements in electronic car technology will help free up the roads and clean the air somewhat, although any environmental progress is set against rapidly growing urban populations, shortfalls in resources like water, and rising incidences of extreme weather.
