Jakarta struggling to reshape unique lake<\/p>\n
Bambang Parlupi, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The rapid pace of development and the increasing population in
\nJakarta have been taking a toll on the land. Paddy fields and
\norchards have given way to shopping plazas and industrial
\nbuildings. Lakes and swampy areas have been turned into real
\nestate for residential and office compounds.<\/p>\n
Lake Babakan, in the Srengseng Sawah area of South Jakarta,
\nhowever, is one lake in Jakarta that has been left undisturbed.<\/p>\n
The local administration placed this lake under protection as
\na water catchment area for the city, as it is lush with foliage,
\nand it will remain part of the city, said Indra Sutisna, 36, a
\nmember of the Srengseng Sawah village council.<\/p>\n
Lake Babakan is a natural lake with several springs and never
\ndries up, even during a prolonged drought.<\/p>\n
In November 1997, the local administration designated Situ
\nBabakan as a conservation site, and it was here that the peak
\nevent of the Regreening and Nature Conservation Program for South
\nJakarta took place. Hundreds of trees have been planted to
\nregreen the area around the lake.<\/p>\n
The city administration has not only conserved the lake forest
\narea, but also the way of life of the Betawi, the indigenous
\npeople of Jakarta. Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso even named the
\ndistrict in 2001 as Lake Babakan -- the Village of Betawi
\nCulture.<\/p>\n
\"Locals still practice Betawi traditions and customs,\" said
\nIndra, who is a member of the Village of Betawi Culture
\nsecretariat.<\/p>\n
Local youths have also been involved in conserving Lake
\nBabakan. Sadeli, 32, a Betawi local resident and 1989 graduate of
\nthe Jakarta Agricultural High School, has pioneered a
\nconservation drive for his area. With some 20 peers, he set up a
\ngroup called Nuansa Lestari, or Conservation Nuance, and assigned
\nthemselves the task of conserving Lake Babakan, for which purpose
\nthey established the Lake Babakan Nature Conservation Team. The
\nteam has been conducting regreening activities since 1996, such
\nas cleaning the lake and being active in the community.<\/p>\n
\"Currently, we are conserving some rare species of plants
\nunique to the Betawi, particularly fruit plants that once
\nflourished here and elsewhere in Jakarta,\" Sadeli said.<\/p>\n
Locals, he said, had thoughtlessly cut these trees down for
\npersonal use or replaced them with plants from which they could
\ngain commercial benefits.<\/p>\n
Gandaria trees, for example, had been replaced by other trees.
\nThe young generation knew nothing about gandaria, he said.<\/p>\n
Nuansa Lestari has cultivated some 20 fruit plants and about
\n50 garden or potted plants so far. They get the seedlings from
\nvillages on the city outskirts, or from South Jakarta's Office of
\nAgriculture.<\/p>\n
Sadeli said endangered trees included gandaria, namnam and
\nrukem, in addition to kweni, a kind of sweet, strong-smelling
\nmango, and gohok, which bears tart, purple fruit.<\/p>\n
Apart from the lost plants, Lake Babakan environmentalists are
\nconcerned that some local businesspeople have built fish corrals
\nin the lake to breed gold fish and imported fish such as the lou
\nhan, or flowerhorn fish, since the monetary crisis hit the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"The fish food will unfavorably affect the quality of the lake
\nwater. To make matters worse, there is also waste water from the
\nhouseholds in the area. Eventually, the ecosystem will be
\ndamaged,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Nur Syarif, 27, a member of the Situ Babakan Social Task
\nForce, admitted that the fish corrals helped the locals extricate
\nthemselves from their economic problems, but a number of plants
\nand animals indigenous to the lake were endangered as a result.<\/p>\n
\"There used to be lots of lotuses, but they are gone now,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He explained that several local species began to disappear
\nabout 10-15 years ago. Many indigenous fish species in the lake,
\nsuch as catfish, locally known as keting, melem and belida
\ndisappeared when people started taking the lotuses from the lake.<\/p>\n
\"Don't dream of seeing those fish now. The most you'll find
\nare the fish that the farmers breed,\" Syarif added.<\/p>\n
Only some 14 hectares of the 32-hectare lake holds water.
\nSadeli and other local environmentalists hope the local
\nadministration would take good care of the lake by filtering
\nincoming water and hiring people to keep waste and garbage out of
\nthe lake.<\/p>\n
The group is determined to restore the natural condition of
\nthe lake by cultivating water plants there, and hope to gain the
\nsupport of all affected parties.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, said Sadeli, they have yet to receive any
\ntraining from the Jakarta Natural Resources Conservation Center,
\nlet alone any financial aid from relevant institutions.<\/p>",
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