Banten, West Java, Jakarta team up to save ponds

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

In an attempt to mitigate worsening floods year in and year out as well as the water crisis in Jakarta, authorities from Banten, West Java and Jakarta provinces signed on Wednesday an agreement to participate in the preservation of situ or water catchment reservoirs in their respective regions.

"These areas hold a crucial role in the flood control system," said State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim following the signing ceremony at City Hall.

He said that despite their crucial function -- many of the ponds and reservoirs can retain up to 30 million cubic meters of water -- far too many in Greater Jakarta had been severely damaged or entirely wiped out.

"Of the 198 water bodies in Greater Jakarta, as many as 134, or 68 percent of them, cannot function properly as water catchment areas," Nabiel said.

Nine ponds have been converted into residential areas or dump sites, while two ponds in Tangerang were converted into rice fields, he added.

The government had earlier began to raise concerns about the poor condition of the catchment areas in 1994 with the establishment of the Water Resource Conservation and Development Agency under the then Ministry of Public Works, now the Ministry of Settlements and Regional Infrastructure.

However, the project never really took off, apparently due to financial constraints. They only managed to revive 27 reservoirs since 2002, so now the central government is seeking help from regents and governors.

The three provinces have often blamed each other when floods occur, pointing out the destruction in the Puncak mountainous resort for villas as the main cause.

Wednesday's agreement was signed by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan, Banten Governor D. Munandar who was represented by his deputy Ratu Atut Chosiah, Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto, Bogor Regent Agus Utara Effendi, Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim, Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar, Bekasi Mayor Akhmad Zurfaih, Bekasi Regent Saleh Manaf and Depok Mayor Badrul Kamal.

Nabiel, Minister of Settlements and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno and Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno acted as witnesses.

The agreement was consistent with the recommendation made by many environmentalists and urban planners, who have long urged the Jakarta administration to join hands with neighboring communities to tackle flood woes effectively.

Sutiyoso said the cooperative efforts would start this year and last at least until 2011.

"All signatories are committed to conserve existing reservoirs and fix the ruined ones in their respective regions," he said.

The agreement also required the signatories to establish a joint team to monitor the pond preservation and recovery program.

Other clauses in the agreement say that the funding for the program as well as the operational costs of the joint team would be derived from the budget of the respective administrations plus the national budget.

(bisa dipotong)

Danny Setiawan said that his administration would further cooperate with the Jakarta administration in coping with other problems, such as population, settlement and traffic.

"We have discussed those problems, but we will sign other agreements for those later on," he said.