City fails to address root problem of flooding

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Environmentalists say government plans to handle flooding in the city are incomprehensive as they fail to address environmental damage as the root of the annual problem.

They said the eviction of squatters from riverbanks around the city would not stop floods from occurring. Riverbank squatting plays an insignificant role in the cause of floods compared to rampant misuse of designated green areas.

Tubagus Haryo Karbiyanto, an environmentalist who deals with urban and environmental affairs for the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), said violations of the 2010 city master plan continue as the government had no clear agenda on protecting the environment.

He cited as an example the city master plan, which was passed into a bylaw in 1999. The master plan rules that green areas should account for 13.94 percent of the city by 2010, but there has been no action to implement the increase in green areas.

"If the city wants to address the problem of floods, the city administration should stop environmental damage caused by the rampant conversion of green space into business areas," Tubagus told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Tubagus was referring to the construction of business centers in areas that have experienced flooding, such as Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta. "If the city cannot stop such a tendency, don't expect flooding and other environmental problems to be solved," Tubagus added.

According to Tubagus, the city master plan, or Bylaw No. 6/1999, provides guidance on how the city can increase its green areas, which currently only amount to around 9 percent of Jakarta.

Another important matter requiring attention is the normalization of upstream areas in Puncak, Bogor, West Java. Therefore, the city should start talking seriously about the issue with relevant agencies, including Bogor and West Java administrations.

Previously, former chairman of the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Ahmad "Puput" Safruddin said that the 13.95 percent requirement of a city's territory for green areas is far from the ideal figure of 30 percent.

Puput stressed that adequate green areas in the city would help the city lessen flooding as the areas would be able to absorb and retain rainwater and prevent it from flowing directly into rivers.

According to Puput, the conversion of swampy areas and mangrove forests, mainly in northern parts of the city, contributed significantly to flooding in the city as they could no longer absorb rainwater and hold back sea high tides.

He was referring to the conversion of swampy areas into residential areas and business centers like Pantai Indah Kapuk in West Jakarta and Kalapa Gading in North Jakarta.

Puput also criticized the revision of the 1985-2005 city master plan into the 2010 master plan, saying that it was a ploy by the city administration to justify violations of the revised city master plan.

Buildings built on green areas based on the 1985-2005 city master plan include Hotel Mulia in Senayan, Central Jakarta, Taman Anggrek Mall and Condominium in Grogol, West Jakarta.

Meanwhile, head of the City Public Works Agency IGKG Suena stressed that it was unlikely that the city administration would deal with past violations of the master plan.

"It's unlikely that all those buildings will be demolished as there is no legal justification. We should not be blamed for any violations of land use committed long ago," he argued.