Environmental analysis on golf course turned down<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The City Administration's Commission on
\nenvironmental impact has turned down an Environmental Impact
\nAnalysis (Amdal) on the development of a nine hole golf course on
\nBira Island, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Ali Azhar, an executive of the Indonesian Forum for
\nEnvironment (Walhi), told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the
\nstudy was rejected because it failed to meet requirements set by
\nthe commission.<\/p>\n
Amdal is a mandatory assessment which must be presented by a
\ndeveloper to ensure that any development will not produce
\nunwanted effects to the surrounding environment.<\/p>\n
The rejected analysis was prepared by a consulting firm, which
\nwas hired by the golf course project owner, who in 1993 began
\ncutting down the island's forest to build the 20-hectare golf
\ncourse despite the absence of the required assessment.<\/p>\n
Bira Island is one of the 78 islands in North Jakarta which is
\npart of the 108,000-hectare national marine park in the Seribu
\nIslands chain.<\/p>\n
The absence of the necessary assessment of the project
\nimmediately sparked bitter criticisms both from environment
\norganizations and members of the City Council, who insisted that
\nthe project owner make the environmental impact analysis.<\/p>\n
The owner of the project made the study, but it was rejected
\nby the Amdal Commission. It was the third time an analysis had
\nbeen presented to the Commission, first on Sept. 22 last year,
\nthen on Dec. 2 and again on Feb. 10 this year.<\/p>\n
\"None of the three presentations meet the requirement so the
\nAmdal Commission decided to reject them,\" Ali said.<\/p>\n
The study, for example, did not give satisfying answers to the
\nAmdal Commission's questions regarding the use of harmful
\npesticide on the golf course, water usage on the island and the
\nup to 60 percent land utilization limit of the island, which
\ncould be used for tourism purposes, he said.<\/p>\n
Ali said that the Amdal Commission, whose members consist of
\nrepresentatives of the city administration, the Environmental
\nImpact Management Agency, the Jakarta chapter of the Ministry of
\nTourism, Post and Telecommunications, Walhi and the World Wide
\nFund for Nature (WWF), will form an independent team to make a
\nnew study.<\/p>\n
\"The members of the team will include representatives of the
\nAmdal Commission, independent experts and the project owner,\" Ali
\nadded. (hhr)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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