Pollution harms Bogor Botanical Gardens<\/p>\n
By Yudha Kartohadiprodjo<\/p>\n
BOGOR (JP): As you arrive in Bogor from Jakarta via the
\nJagorawi highway, turn right on Jl. Pajajaran. Follow the road
\nand bear to your right. Soon the green sprawl of the Bogor
\nBotanical Gardens will emerge on your right -- that is, if the
\ngaggle of angkot (public minibus) doesn't block your way or a
\ntraffic jam doesn't distract you.<\/p>\n
The Bogor Botanical Gardens, with a vast collection of 3,504
\nplant species within its 87 hectares, is one of the biggest and
\nmost complete gardens of its kind in the world. It has plant
\nspecies from all over the archipelago -- no mean feat since
\nIndonesia is second in the world after Brazil as the country
\nholding the most variety of species in the world.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the garden's very existence is being threatened
\nby pollution.<\/p>\n
\"If you walk alongside the perimeter of the garden, you will
\nsee that many tree leaves have turned brown. They've all dried
\nup,\" Abdul Somad, the garden's public relations and guide
\ncoordinator, explained.<\/p>\n
Somad has been a caretaker of the garden as long as anyone in
\nthe place can remember. Through his own eyes, Somad has witnessed
\nthe slow decay of the garden he has worked so hard for. Years
\nago, he used to live in a dormitory for young guides. He still
\nsometimes reminisces of the days when he could take a bath in the
\nCiliwung River that runs through the garden. Now, industrial and
\nhousehold waste from upstream has prevented most people from
\nusing the river.<\/p>\n
Somad is not the only casualty from the water pollution. The
\nwater's low quality has affected some plants, such as the giant
\nlotus, one of the garden's most prized treasures. Somad pointed
\nout that the lotus' flower rarely blooms these days.<\/p>\n
\"Watching the flowers bloom used to be one of the highlights
\nfor early morning visitors and for the workers. Now it rarely
\nhappens.\"<\/p>\n
Even so, the garden's management cannot provide any data
\nregarding the impact of pollution to the garden's ecosystem.
\n\"We're not sure, but we believe that air and water pollution has
\ncost the garden tremendously,\" Somad explained.<\/p>\n
A limited budget is behind the lack of evidence to support his
\nstatement.<\/p>\n
\"Once, the garden's function was not limited to tourism as it
\nhas been for the past couples of years. It used to be the center
\nof botanical research and a plant cultivation center,\" said Ambar
\nKadarsan, vice chairwoman of Friends of Indonesian Botanic
\nGardens.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, non-governmental organizations, such as Friends
\nof Indonesian Botanical Gardens, the Indonesian Forestry
\nInstitute and the Indonesian Forestry Club, have stepped in to
\nfill the gap. Their assistance in the form of fund-raising,
\nenvironmental awareness programs and seminars has helped the
\ngarden to return to its original function.<\/p>\n
The little research conducted on the garden was done either by
\nthe academic community or non-governmental organizations. The
\nresults have been alarming.<\/p>\n
\"The amount of nitrogen dioxide concentration in plant leaves
\nall over the botanical garden has reached an alarming point,\"
\nSukarsono, a lecturer and researcher from Muhamaddiyah University
\nin Malang, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Sukarsono performed a study on canary trees throughout the
\ngarden earlier this year.<\/p>\n
He gathered leaves from the trees at various points across the
\ngarden, starting from Jl. Pajajaran to Jl. Insinyur Juanda, on
\nthe other side of the garden.<\/p>\n
Sukarsono's examination of the leaves included thorough
\nchemical and microscopic analyses.<\/p>\n
He concluded that the nitrogen dioxide level (NO2) in the
\nleaves exceeded government standard norms.<\/p>\n
A 1998 regulation sets the norm for Nitrogen Dioxide
\nconcentrations at 0.05 parts per million (ppm). Sukarsono found
\nthat the NO2 concentration level in the leaves closest to the
\nroad was 0.2023 ppm, a level exceeding the healthy norm five
\nfold.<\/p>\n
He also found similar results on samples collected from other
\nareas in the garden. The only sample found to be better than the
\nnorm was taken from the center of the garden.<\/p>\n
Nitrogen dioxide is the result of a chemical reaction between
\noxygen and nitrogen oxide, which is emitted from the tailpipes of
\nmotor vehicles. Such emissions can destroy the clorophile cells
\nin leaves.<\/p>\n
The cells give the plant its green color needed for
\nphotosynthesis. A plant will suffer from a decreased rate of
\ngrowth and discoloration if it looses a lot of these cells.<\/p>\n
To the ordinary eye, like Somad's, such a discoloration looks
\nlike the plant may be suffering from a lack of water. Yet through
\na microscope, Sukarsono was able to find damage to the leaves'
\ncell structures.<\/p>\n
Following his initial findings, Sukartono measured the
\ndiameter of canary trees of the same age. The result was that the
\ntrees closer to the road were found to be smaller than trees the
\nsame age further inside the garden.<\/p>\n
Sukarsono's research was on larger trees which are less
\nsensitive to pollution than the smaller plants in the garden.<\/p>\n
Disappear<\/p>\n
Ambar acknowledged that there had been an alarming number of
\nshrubs disappearing from the garden recently. \"Some of these
\nshrubs could well be indicators of the pollution level. The
\ndisappearance of some of them should attract our attention to the
\nproblem.\"<\/p>\n
Sukarsono bemoaned the lack of comparable data for his
\nresearch. \"There has only been a few, if any, studies on the
\neffects of pollution to the garden. Without constant monitoring,
\nit will be hard for us to show any qualitative evidence of its
\ndeterioration,\" Sukarsono said.<\/p>\n
In order to supply a reference for fellow researchers in the
\nfuture, Sukarsono took random chemical samples of leaves from
\nvarious other trees throughout the garden.<\/p>\n
Bogor officials have received a number of proposals over the
\nyears designed to decrease the flow of traffic circling the
\ngarden. One calls for the reduction of the number of angkot in
\nthe area by relocating the market on the south side of the garden
\nor rerouting the traffic passing the garden.<\/p>\n
\"We had been planning to reroute the traffic circling the
\nbotanical garden to a new road at South Sentul and Bogor Baru,\"
\nexplained Eddy Hamdan, the chairman of Bogor's Agency for
\nRegional Development (Bappeda). \"But the plan came to a halt due
\nto the monetary crisis.\"<\/p>\n
He explained that the regional government had acknowledged
\nthat the garden's problems may be caused by the amount of nearby
\ntraffic.<\/p>\n
\"Between 100,000 and 150,000 Bogor residents commute to
\nJakarta every day. Most of them use the road that circles the
\nbotanical garden,\" said Hamdan. \"If we could provide an
\nalternative route, traffic near the garden could be reduced by as
\nmuch as 50 percent.\" He quickly added that such a decision could
\nonly be made by higher authorities.<\/p>\n
So if the regency approves the plan, you may have to take a
\ndetour in order to see the Bogor Botanical Gardens. It would,
\nhowever, be for our and the botanical garden's own good.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pollution-harms-bogor-botanical-gardens-1447893297",
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