City forest turned into sports hall
City forest turned into sports hall
Urip Hudiono and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The concrete jungle of Jakarta -- only about 9 percent of its
65,680 hectares consists of open and green spaces -- grew a
little bigger when much of the 10-hectare city forest in Cibubur,
East Jakarta, was recently cleared to make way for a sports hall.
Hundreds of trees once stood in the Pemuda City Forest, a
small sanctuary for residents and wildlife alike. However, they
have been replaced with the nearly completed sports hall.
The Ministry of National Education's director general of
sports, Toho Kholik, who is managing the site, said all relevant
regulation had been followed in implementing the project,
including the city's master plan.
"We obtained all the necessary permits for the project from
the related agencies last year," he said. "The project also
received an environmental impact analysis."
Toho said the sports hall would be host events put on by his
office as well as the Directorate for Youth Affairs.
He added that his office would provide monetary compensation
for the trees that were felled, but he did not say how much money
would be paid.
Toho said the sports hall was a long-term project between his
office and the Korean Overseas International Cooperation Agency,
which is financing the project.
"We have either planted new trees in other locations or paid
compensation to the City Parks Agency," he said, adding that 20
percent of the site would also be conserved as an open and green
space.
However, the outgoing head of the City Agriculture and
Forestry Agency, Peni Susanti, said the Cibubur city forest was
under the auspices of her agency, not the parks agency.
"Anyone who wants to construct any buildings in the forested
area must consult with us first. But, in this case, we never
received any proposal," she said.
Governor Sutiyoso said his administration had only given a
permit for the construction of a shopping mall in an area
adjacent to the city forest.
"If there is no permit for the construction of the building, I
will take action. But I will check the facts first," he said.
Separately, councillor Syamsidar Siregar of the National
Mandate Party (PAN) questioned whether the project was in line
with the city's master plan.
"Jakarta is in dire need of water catchment areas to help
reduce flooding," she said. "Thus, it is doubtful if they claim
that the construction is in line with the master plan."
The City Planning Board reported in its preliminary evaluation
of the city's 2000-2010 master plan that open and green spaces in
the capital had decreased by 14 percent over the last 19 years.
The current master plan requires the administration to
maintain the city's open and green spaces -- including parks,
street greenbelts and riversides -- at 13.94 percent of the
city's total area, or 9,155.8 hectares.