Regreening helps city breathe easier<\/p>\n
Along with the country's other major cities, Jakarta has been
\ntaking part in the Gerakan Sejuta Pohon (One Million Tree
\nMovement). Since 1993, when the National Regreening Movement was
\nlaunched by President Soeharto, some areas in the capital have
\nbeen made greener, cleaner and healthier. The Jakarta Post
\nreporters Benget Simbolon, A. Junaidi, Prapti Widinugraheni and
\nK. Basrie wrote the following article and other related stories
\non pages 8 and 13 in an attempt to evaluate the movement after
\nnearly four years.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In the 15th century, Jakarta was called Sunda
\nKelapa after the Sunda Kingdom and the huge number of kelapa
\ntrees around a busy port in the northern part of the city.<\/p>\n
Under Dutch rule in the 18th century, wealthy Europeans
\naspired to live in houses similar to those in their home
\ncountries. They built country houses and grand mansions with
\nelaborate gardens complete with fountains, statues and topiary
\ngardens.<\/p>\n
\"When you get out into the kampongs you meet with the gardens
\nand parks of Hollanders, adjoining one another for miles
\ntogether,\" recalled Chinese writer Ong Tae Hae.<\/p>\n
Do the swaying coconut leaves and house gardens remain?<\/p>\n
Undoubtedly, the city has changed due to the country's booming
\neconomy. The number of houses, offices, public facilities has
\nmultiplied dramatically to accommodate the city's population of 9
\nmillion people, requiring thousands of hectares of land.<\/p>\n
So many of the sites once designated for public parks are now
\noccupied by gas stations, local administration offices and
\nelectricity power stations, that Jakarta has almost become
\n\"greenless\".<\/p>\n
The area and number of water catchment areas, which supply
\nJakartans with clean water, have decreased significantly. Air
\npollution has begun to choke the city as more and more vehicles
\npour onto the streets.<\/p>\n
In an attempt to address the worsening problems of air
\npollution, flooding, climate changes and other environmental
\nhazards, local authorities launched the city's first regreening
\ncampaign in 1989.<\/p>\n
The drive evolved into the Gerakan Sejuta Pohon (One Million
\nTree Movement) in 1993, which President Soeharto declared as the
\nYear of the Environment.<\/p>\n
A target was set to plant at least one million trees per year.<\/p>\n
The government promised to hand out seeds to Jakartans, who
\nwere asked to plant trees, flowers and vegetables in their
\nrespective surroundings. Residents were reminded that no trees
\ncould be cut down without permission from the local
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
Each of the city's five mayoralties was ordered to set aside
\ntwo hectares of land for the regreening program. Monas park and
\nthe former 15-hectare garbage dump in Srengseng, West Jakarta,
\nwere just two of the areas to be converted into \"urban forests\".
\nThe city's agencies responsible for parks, forestry, public
\nworks, agriculture, animal husbandry, fishery, cemeteries,
\nsanitation and sports were told to get involved.<\/p>\n
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said that, ideally, 30 percent of
\nthe capital's 65,000 hectares should be planted with trees.
\nHowever, he later admitted that, realistically, \"Jakarta can only
\nafford to spare 15 percent of its area for trees.\"<\/p>\n
In Singapore, he said, 49 percent of the city's total area is
\nset aside for greening projects. \"It looks so pretty,\" said the
\ngovernor.<\/p>\n
According to the head of the Jakarta Parks Agency, Syamsir
\nAlam, the city hopes to have 6,500 hectares of trees planted by
\nthe end of 2005. He added that his agency has built seven
\nartesian wells and employed some 500 workers, including 10
\nlandscapers, to maintain the city's parks and gardens.<\/p>\n
Results<\/p>\n
Four years on, the city claims to have reached 86 percent of
\nits target of four million trees.<\/p>\n
\"We've planted 3,470,924 trees thus far,\" said Deputy Governor
\nTubagus M. Rais.<\/p>\n
The head of the city's environmental bureau, Aboejoewono
\nAboeprajitno, explained that this year alone city officials have
\nconverted 1,937 hectares of city land into parks and green areas,
\n806 hectares into \"urban forests\" and campus grounds,
\n798 hectares into green areas along rivers, streets, dams and
\nlakes as well as 13,499 hectares into rice fields, seasonal crop
\nplantations and public gardens.<\/p>\n
Critics, however, doubt the numbers and say that the movement
\nhas been carried out half-heartedly.<\/p>\n
Urban landscape expert Professor Zoer'aini Djamal Irwan
\ngrumbled about the inability of law enforcement agencies to drive
\naway those who still occupy sites designated for parks.<\/p>\n
\"Currently, only 25 of the city's 290 parks, that were taken
\nover for other purposes, have been restored to their original
\nfunction,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Zoer'aini also accused those in the parks agency of lacking
\nproper plant knowledge, which she says has caused the death of
\nmany plants. Aboejoewono concurred, alleging that 20 percent of
\nthe 1.26 million trees planted in 1993 have died.<\/p>\n
\"I think people were overly enthusiastic about the program and
\ndidn't really know how to take care of the new trees,\" he said,
\nadding that the trees planted would continue to die at a rate of
\n20 percent per year over the next couple of years.<\/p>\n
Despite the criticism, many of the city's officials and
\ncitizens are pleased with the progress and the attempts made to
\nregreen the densely-populated city.<\/p>\n
Kazuki Kagaya, the Jakarta bureau chief of the Tokyo-based
\nNihon Keizai Shimbun, commented: \"When I came to Jakarta 10
\nmonths ago I was surprised to find that the city was very much
\ngreen. Trees were seen alongside the main roads. But the
\nauthorities should not be complacent. It has to devise a more
\nintegrated environmental plan to plant more trees.\"<\/p>\n
Among the urban forestry projects still underway are those at
\nMonas park and at the former Kemayoran airport in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
According to Governor Surjadi, one of the biggest problems in
\ncarrying out the drive, apart from land limitations, is the lack
\nof public support, particularly on the part of those living in
\nslum areas.<\/p>\n
\"I'm concerned that many people living in slum areas are not
\nconcerned about their unhealthy environment,\" said the governor.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reasons, one only has to look out of a window or
\ndrive around the city to evaluate the success of the movement.<\/p>\n
Like the Koes Plus band says in one of its songs: Ke Jakarta
\naku kan kembali, walaupun apa yang 'kan terjadi (I'll come back
\nto Jakarta, regardless of what happens there).<\/p>",
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