Expert praises Bogor as green city

BOGOR: Forestry expert Hadi S. Alikodra of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture said on Friday Bogor was the only city in the country that had an almost ideal amount of green area.

He said ideally, 30 percent of the total area of a city would be made up of green zones.

"If every city in the country had large green areas, the cities would have abundant supplies of oxygen and water, and they would be free of flooding and land erosion," he said.

The Bogor Botanical Parks, a forest managed by the Center for International Forestry Research, as well as part of the Gunung Pangrango National Park, are located near downtown Bogor.

"Bogor's environment is safe," Alikodra added.

He said that although Jakarta had many parks and protected forests, they did not function well.

"Moreover, Jakarta's city forests only make up about 7.5 percent of the city's total area." -- JP