Cities and towns told to devote 10% of area to nature<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has issued a regulation requiring cities and towns
\nnationwide to set aside at least 10 percent of their territory as
\nnatural and\/or park areas.<\/p>\n
The regulation, however, provides neither incentive nor
\npunishment for provincial, regency or mayoralty administrations
\nthat comply or do not comply with the ruling.<\/p>\n
Ministry of Forestry Spokesman Koes Saparjadi said Tuesday
\nthat the minimum size of a city's natural green area should be
\n10 percent, and any adjustment by regional administrations must
\nbe made without going below 10 percent.<\/p>\n
\"This ruling serves as a legal basis for cities and towns
\nthroughout the country to reduce pollution, sustain water
\ncatchment areas and support biodiversity preservation,\" said
\nKoes, adding that it would also encourage cities and towns to
\nmaintain green areas.<\/p>\n
The regulation, No. 63\/2002 on City Natural Areas, was signed
\nby President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Nov. 12 but only made
\navailable to the public on Nov. 24.<\/p>\n
Koes said the regulation was issued due to the fact that most
\ncities and towns in Indonesia had little or no natural green
\nareas remaining and those that did, the size was less than 10
\npercent.<\/p>\n
\"The location and the size of the areas will be decided by
\nregency and mayoralty administrations, except for Jakarta which
\nwill be determined solely by the governor,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to the regulation, the size of a city's green area
\nin a location must be least 0.25 hectares in any given area,
\nwhile the land could be state-owned or private land.<\/p>\n
\"People, whose land is earmarked as part of the city's green
\narea, will still have ownership of the land and will receive
\nincentives from the government,\" he said without elaborating on
\nthe incentives.<\/p>\n
Article 19 (4) stipulates that the maintenance of plots of
\nprivate land as part of the city's green areas should be at least
\nfor 15 years.<\/p>\n
The regulation also said that the management of government-
\nowned green areas would be carried out by local administrations
\nand the general public, while the management of private land
\nwould be the land owner's responsibility, or by other people and
\nthe local government with the consent of the landlord.<\/p>\n
The regulation prohibits people from cutting down trees, other
\nland clearing, setting fire to the land, or conducting other
\nactivities that would destroy the city's natural areas.<\/p>\n
Only projects like ecotourism, research, education and non-
\nlogging activities will be allowed on the land.<\/p>\n
Togu Manurung of the Forest Watch Indonesia welcomed the
\nregulation, saying it was needed to help manage nature in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
However, he said, the regulation only ensured the presence of
\nsuch green areas, but there was no legal consequence for local
\ngovernments if the city's natural area was less than ten percent
\nof the total city.<\/p>\n
Even if the local government, for example the Jakarta
\nadministration, attempted to expand green areas, the effort would
\nbe difficult as the land price in Jakarta was very expensive, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Togu also said that people would also be reluctant to allocate
\ntheir land for nature as there was no obligation for local
\ngovernments to give incentives.<\/p>\n
He added that there was no mechanism under the regulation
\nwherein the public could take legal action against the local
\ngovernment if the latter failed to maintain the 10 percent.<\/p>",
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