City development continues at the cost of the environment

T. Sima Gunawan The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Shopping malls have become a necessity for a metropolis like Jakarta. It is a place where people can shop conveniently in fully air-conditioned stores, enjoy various kinds of food, watch the latest movies, or just hang out with friends.

No wonder more and more shopping malls are being built in the city. This year saw the development of more than 20 shopping centers, including malls, in the Greater Jakarta. In the last quarter of the year alone, at least seven, are slated to start operating. They are ITC Kuningan, Plaza Ciputat, Senayan Trade Center, Plaza Kelapa Gading, Kelapa Gading Mall III, Cilandak Town Square and Citra Gran Mall. Several others had opened earlier this year while some others such as Plaza Semanggi, Senayan City and the one in the Kelapa Gading sports stadium are being developed.

This sounds like good news, especially when the city has not fully recovered from the economic crisis which started to hit the country in 1997. While many people are happy with the development of these modern high-rise buildings, some have expressed objections.

In Kelapa Gading, local residents protested against the plan to build a sports stadium that will include an international- standard basketball arena and a mall with 264 stores.

The project, which started in the middle of the year at an estimated cost of Rp 70 billion (US$8 million), is being constructed on a build-transfer-operate basis. The city administration will regain both the land and building after 25 years of operation.

The protesters argued that the land should be used to build social and public facilities, especially schools, not for commercial purposes. They are afraid that the construction of the sports stadium will create more traffic congestion in the narrow streets and threaten their security.

Kelapa Gading, which probably has seen the most rapid development in the city in the past decade, is one of the elite residential areas in the city with many housing complexes and stores.

It is likely, however, that the protesting residents and many other thousands of people living in Kelapa Gading are not aware that the construction of the sports stadium is not the only controversial project in the area.

In fact, there is something wrong with the recent development of the whole area.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said the 1985-2005 Master Plan (RUTR) stipulated that Kelapa Gading and some other areas in North Jakarta like Sunter and Angke Kapuk forests could not be developed for housing unless the city implemented infrastructure, such as flood-control facilities, to prevent environmental problems.

The infrastructure like the East Flood Canal and a number of dams accommodating the city's 13 main rivers have not been constructed or completed yet.

But the Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) housing area has been developed in the Angke Kapuk forest, housing, and business areas in Kelapa Gading, along with an industrial zone in Sunter. There are also Vila Kapuk Emas, storehouses, and industrial areas around Tegal Alur in North Jakarta.

The development of those areas was made possible thanks to a revision of the 1985-2005 Master Plan in 1999, which became the 1995-2010 Master Plan.

The revision that was made in 1999 was apparently to accommodate the violations of the original master plan that had already occurred a few years earlier.

Under the revised land-use plan, many green areas in Pondok Indah in South Jakarta, Tomang in West Jakarta and Senayan, which is partly located between South Jakarta and Central Jakarta, could be changed into housing or commercial estates.

Pondok Indah hospital and Pondok Indah Mall in Pondok Indah; Plaza Senayan and the five-star Mulia Hotel in Senayan and the Taman Anggrek Mall with its condominiums in Tomang are among many buildings that have contributed to the dwindling catchment areas in the city.

All of the establishments are equipped with beautiful facilities. The developers are enjoying huge profits while the rich are also pleased with the facilities.

However, there are other people, especially the poor, who suffer from such development.

Those living near the Taman Anggrek Mall and condominiums have complained about a scarcity of ground water. The people -- many do not have access to tap water -- have said that they have to dig deeper and deeper in order to obtain ground water.

The water crisis is only one of many problems caused by uncontrollable development in the city.

Flooding is another problem which is no less serious.

Many small lakes, locally called situ, have also disappeared or have diminished drastically, mainly to make way for the development of housing complexes, industrial areas and golf courses.

The city administration earlier admitted that it had sold one lake here to private developers in exchange for shares in the development of a business center in the Pulogadung area.

Official data shows that now there are about 15 lakes in Jakarta.

Walhi says that the ideal percentage of green area should be about 30 percent of the total area of the city.

Today, green areas account for only 9 percent of the total area of Jakarta, or 63,744 hectares. The administration plans to increase the green areas to 14 percent by 2010. While it is far below the ideal figure proposed by Walhi, it also remains to be seen if the administration can reach that target.

Development is indeed needed to boost economic growth and to create more jobs. But development activities should not be carried out at the cost of the environment.

The huge floods in January and February this year were obvious proof of the negative effects of unsustainable development.

Activists have repeatedly called upon the city administration to be cautious. Unfortunately the city administration has turned a deaf ear. Nothing has been done to review its development plan. The administration is also not selective in issuing permits for development projects in the city.

In the middle of this year, the flea market in Taman Puring, South Jakarta, which is supposed to be a green area, was razed by fire. Now, a new market has been built on the site.

In the meantime, the city administration fails to give serious attention to the development of infrastructure to eliminate environmental disasters, such as flooding.

Nature gave us a strong warning through the massive floods that hit almost all parts of the city earlier this year. It is sad to note that little, if anything has been learned from the disaster.