Jakarta should restore water catchment areas<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As part of the effort to resolve the annual flood problem in
\nthe capital, the city administration should give priority to
\nrestoring those water catchment areas which have disappeared due
\nto their conversion to other functions, say city planning
\nexperts.<\/p>\n
Wahyudi Wisaksono of Trisakti University said that ideally the
\ncity should allocate 25 percent of its land area for water
\ncatchment, which is very important for accommodating water
\nfalling during the rainy season.<\/p>\n
"Because of continuous conversion of water catchment areas to
\nother functions, water catchment areas in our city now only
\naccount for around 15 percent of the Jakarta land area," said
\nWahyudi, an expert on environmental technology and landscape
\narchitecture on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Water catchment areas could take the form of open green areas,
\nsquares, parks and greenbelts in the 67,000-hectare city.<\/p>\n
According to Wahyudi, many water catchment areas in the
\ncapital have been converted to various other functions, such as
\nfuel stations, residential areas and commercial centers.<\/p>\n
Separately, the head of the city planning agency, Safrudin
\nKanani, admitted that there were many water catchment areas whose
\nfunctions had been changed. He gave as an example the fact that
\naround 15 greenbelt sites in Jakarta were being used as fuel
\nstations.<\/p>\n
One of them, located right under the Semanggi bridge, is owned
\nby Taufik Kiemas, husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Instead of immediately ordering the restoration of such water
\ncatchment areas, Safrudin said that the administration would only
\ndo so after the contract with the businessmen in question had
\nexpired.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, city architect Marco Kusumawijaya stressed that
\nlack of commitment from the Jakarta city administration was the
\nreason why many green areas in Jakarta, which should have been
\npreserved as water catchment areas, had been converted to other
\nfunctions.<\/p>\n
"They have drafted a city plan, but they always violate it.
\nBecause of their inconsistency, the situation is becoming worse
\nand worse," Marco told The Jakarta Post on Saturday, adding that
\nsuch inconsistencies arose because of corrupt bureaucrats who
\nwere easily lobbied by businessmen.<\/p>\n
He cited the Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) luxury housing complex
\nin North Jakarta as an example of serious violation of the 1985-
\n2005 city plan as in the plan it was stated that the area should
\nbe reserved for mangrove forests.<\/p>\n
Marco said that the city administration should begin
\nformulating a long-term plan for comprehensively resolving the
\nannual flood problem in the city.<\/p>\n
The public's support, according to Marco, was the key to the
\nsuccess of any plan made by the city administration. Therefore,
\nstrong leadership involving popular participation was necessary.<\/p>\n
"Policies will be successful if the people voluntarily support
\nthem. People, for example, will not dump garbage in the rivers or
\npeople will not extend their houses by violating what has been
\nstated in the their permits as they will know what the
\nconsequences are," he added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-should-restore-water-catchment-areas-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}