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.