Bogor embarks on conservation effort

Bogor embarks on conservation effort

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

The Bogor administration, in collaboration with West Java
province, is making efforts to rehabilitate the downstream
reaches of the Citarum-Ciliwung river system in Karawang, West
Java, which have been damaged by deforestation.

Citarum-Ciliwung River Basin Management Board director Nandang
Sunarya told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the board was now
involving local residents in Karawang in the efforts to conserve
and improve the downstream ecosystem.

"The public are being encouraged to plant trees around their
homes, offices and factories in the downstream area," he
explained.

Earlier in the day, Minister of Forestry MS Kaban said that
Karawang was a priority for the government's environmental
rehabilitation efforts.

"The minister of public works has complained about the
shortage of water sources on Java island. I have talked to all
the relevant firms, including bottled water companies, to
encourage them to conserve both the upstream and downstream
reaches of our rivers," he said.

The government has targeted the rehabilitation of 3 million
hectares of deforested land by 2007, which will cost the state a
total of Rp 10 trillion, said Kaban.

"Rapid development has left only 18 percent of Java island
capable of serving as water catchment areas ... That's why we
all, as stakeholders, should help to minimize the adverse impacts
by planting trees in our neighborhoods," he explained.