Conservation of Batam's forest
Conservation of Batam's forest
Batam's beautiful natural scenery is one of the factors that brings comfort and peace of mind to investors here. It is the comparative edge of the region, which is known as a place for industrial undertakings, trade, transshipment and tourism. This natural potential takes the form of international-standard resorts, beaches, the seas and well-managed forest areas.
This natural potential continues to be well managed, particularly the conservation of the forest areas to ensure that Batam, which is in close proximity to Singapore, will remain green. Forest conservation, which serves as the region's "lungs" and at the same time as rainwater catchment, is a top priority. This strong commitment to forest conservation is reflected in the proposal by the Batam Authority to the forestry ministry that several spots should be stipulated as protected forest areas. This proposal is aimed at creating balance in the ecosystem so that sustainable and environment-oriented development may take place.
In the early days of Batam's development, the government was yet to stipulate the legal status of the forest areas on this island. Therefore, in those days there was no specific labeling of the forest areas such as forest areas for tourists' purposes, protected forest areas or the mangrove forest areas, as there are in a few other regions.
It was in 1986, 1988 and 1989 that the Batam Authority asked the forestry ministry to differentiate the status of the forest areas to provide a basis for law enforcement in the water catchment area. Finally, the government, through a decree of the forestry minister, designated several locations as either protected forest areas or forest areas for tourists' purposes.
This status confirmation can now be used as a legal foundation for the exercise of supervision over forest areas and to ensure that they will be free from damage by irresponsible people. This damage may be in the form of forest burning, illegal logging, illegal construction in water catchment areas and so forth.
Increased forest destruction constitutes one of the unfavorable excesses of population migration, a movement which reached 14 percent last year. This jump in the population is faster than the provision of houses. As a result, illegal houses have been built, mostly in places that are not designated for such purposes.
Various efforts have been made to ensure that the forest areas are well conserved. Fences have been put up around protected forest areas and forest-control stations have been set up. Forest security units have been established and a task force has been formed to overcome illegal logging. Forestry counseling has been intensified and the number of forest rangers has been increased. Cooperation has been established with civilian forestry investi gators from the office of the Riau (province) Natural Resources Conservation Center so that those violating forestry regulations may be detained.
Burned out forest areas have been reforested. However, as the soil in Batam is not fertile, it takes quite a long time to restore the forest. That is why it is necessary to enhance the awareness of the entire population in this region so that forested areas will continue to be well maintained, which is one of the reasons why Batam will also continue to be a great investment area.
The rapid development going on in Batam needs changes in the region's development plan. Therefore, to accommodate this rapid economic growth, adjustment is needed, including the use of land. In 1993, an evaluation of this region's master plan was made by LEMTEK-UI. This institution recommended that the functions of forest areas, measuring a total of 2,235 hectares, be switched so that they can be used for house building, tourism, commercial purposes and public facilities. These changes are quite natural, given the dynamic development going on in Batam, and are also feasible in terms of the laws.
These functional changes have led the Batam Authority to provide more extensive forest replacement areas, a total of 2,517 hectares, so that the island's forested areas will be a total of 13,363 hectares, or 33.4 percent of the total area of the island itself. These changes have been made known to the forestry ministry and have been brought about on the basis of the 1992 official account of the forest boundary committee, of which the Batam municipality head was chairman. The committee members included representatives from the Batam mayoralty, the National Land Agency and the Batam Authority. This forest boundary official account has been drawn up with the knowledge of Riau provincial forestry office and the Riau governor.
In previous years, development programs on this island were based on the Batam municipality's spatial layout design plan, a master plan stipulated by virtue of Regional Regulation No. 20/2000 by Batam municipality legislative assembly. Hard efforts have also been made to ensure that forested areas will remain in good condition, a fact seen in other environmental conservation programs intended for this island.
These conservation programs include, among other things, rural improvement and population resettlement. A rural improvement program is aimed at putting in order settlement areas that have grown illegally and irregularly in several places on this island. The population resettlement program is aimed at moving residents away from hazardous areas and from areas where their settlement may damage the environment. Therefore, the development of Batam, one of Indonesia's most promising environmentally oriented areas, may continue to run at a rapid pace as in other cities in other parts of the world.
(Box) For further information please contact: Batam Industrial Development Authority BIDA Building, Batam Centre, Batam Island 29400, Indonesia Tel. (0778) 462047, 462048 Fax. (0778) 462456, 462240 http://www.batam.go.id, E-mail: inquiry@batam.go.id