Councilor urges quarrying stopped

JAKARTA (JP): A city councilor urged the city administration yesterday to take stern action against illegal sand quarrying activities on the Thousand Islands, North Jakarta.

Saud Rachman, member of Commission D for development affairs, made the appeal in response to the disappearance of six islands in the chain of islands as a result of excessive sand quarrying for nearby projects, including the North Jakarta coast reclamation project.

The six islands that have been reported to have disappeared are Pulau Ubi, Pulau Damar, Pulau Laki, Pulau Nirwana, Pulau Dapur and Pulau Nyamuk.

Two of the islands, Pulau Laki and Pulau Nyamuk, were home to many bird species.

Saud also named three other islets in the chain, Gusung Laga, Gusung Karang and Gusung Kapas, which were also vanishing because of the illegal sand quarrying.

"The sand quarrying activities in the area have been done over the last decade. Why does the city administration still issue permits to contractors to do sand quarrying there?" he said.

Saud said the disappearance of the six islands started when part of the islands' sand was taken for the development of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in the early 1980s.

"Stopping the existing sand quarrying practice is not easy. I can't imagine what the damage will be if the administration keeps giving permits for other contractors to do the same in the Thousand Islands chain," Saud said.

Saud said that it is terrible for Jakarta to lose the islands because as well as being the city's natural habitat sites, they also function as the city's barrier against environmental changes.

"The city administration, especially the North Jakarta mayoralty, has to be strict and bravely enforce the rules," he said.

Saud said that the deteriorating situation was caused mainly by the possibility of collusion between some officials and big contractors in the reclamation projects.

Meanwhile, deputy governor of economic and development affairs, T.B. Rais, said earlier that the reclamation project in North Jakarta bay would need 200 million cubic meters of sand.

According to Rais, the sand would be taken from underwater sea-sand quarrying and the 14 rivers in North Jakarta, including Banjir Kanal Timur.

While not opposed to the reclamation plan, Saud said it was time for every official involved in the project having a bad impact on the environment to consistently obey the rules.

"If some officials or contractors were proven to be guilty in such practices, they should be exposed to the public and punished according to the existing law," he said.

"Remember our future generations. Don't sacrifice them over the negligence we do today," Saud added. (07)