NGO blames govt for Puncak crisis<\/p>\n
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor<\/p>\n
Non-governmental organization the Society of Environment Lovers
\n(Wakal) blamed on Friday the Bogor regency administration for
\nenvironmental damage in the Puncak mountain resort area following
\nan increase in villa construction there.<\/p>\n
\"The administration has no political will to address the
\nenvironmental crisis, let alone take action. The officials are
\nsimply looking for financial benefit from the villas,\" Wakal
\ncoordinator Ahmad Sjaugy Gathmyr told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Ahmad further urged the officials and environmental experts to
\nstop talking and take action.<\/p>\n
\"We have attended many seminars and discussions and heard
\ncomments from high-ranking officials and experts, but it's an
\nopen secret that the perpetrators of the environmental damage are
\nabove the law as they have bribed the authorities,\" he accused.<\/p>\n
Also in the day, Director of National Spatial Management with
\nthe Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Ruchyat
\nDeni supported Wakal by saying that the local administration
\nshould be held responsible for the conversion of the Puncak from
\na conserved area to a residential area.<\/p>\n
\"The administration is powerless because those who own land in
\nthe Puncak are prominent national figures and state officials.
\nThe administration should have stopped the development of villas
\nand the housing complexes there from the start,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ruchyat was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar held by the
\nBogor Institute of Agriculture, titled Spatial management and
\nenvironmental issues in Greater Jakarta, the Puncak and Cianjur.<\/p>\n
The intensity of development around Bogor, Puncak and Cianjur
\nis always blamed for the annual flooding in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Recently, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan pointed out that
\nit was the Jakarta elite that had caused the catastrophe.<\/p>\n
\"They bought the land and built villas or paid local farmers
\nto cultivate fruit and vegetables for the consumption of Jakarta
\npeople, reducing water catchments. The high influx of visitors,
\nuncontrolled development and poor law enforcement are all
\nculprits with regard to environmental damage,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Moreover, he said, the existence of contradictory regulations
\non the usage of the area had made the matter more complicated.<\/p>\n
Presidential Decree No. 114\/1999 identifies the area as a
\nwater and land conservation area, but Government Regulation No.
\n47\/1997 on spatial management, as well as several bylaws, treat
\nthe area as a major source of revenue.<\/p>\n
\"There should be integrated management of the Bogor-Puncak-
\nCianjur area to maintain both its conservation and economic
\nvalue,\" Danny said.<\/p>\n
However, head of Bogor city spatial planning and environment
\nagency Adrian Aria Kusuma said that the development of villas and
\nhousing complexes in the resort area was not unlawful.<\/p>\n
\"They were built on private land and they have the necessary
\npermits. We are not ignoring the environmental damage issues but
\nthe development there, contrary to all accusations, improves the
\nwater catchment. What we need is proper control because we can't
\nprevent people from developing land,\" he argued.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ngo-blames-govt-for-puncak-crisis-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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