Firm told to act on Bira Island
Firm told to act on Bira Island
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja instructed PT Pulau Seribu Paradise, the developer of a golf course on Bira Island, North Jakarta, to audit the island's environment.
An evaluation is badly needed to help repair the damages caused by the construction of the project. Environmentally, he has asked them to work to restore the plant and tree life that serve as water catchment and to improve the bio-diversity conditions of the island, the minister said yesterday.
Speaking to reporters after opening a training course on Environment Management and Monitoring Efforts, Sarwono said that the company should bear all the expenses needed to finance the audit activities.
President Soeharto expressed his concern on Friday with the destruction of the island.
The President underlined the importance of rejuvenating the environment and threatened to prosecute the developer if it refused to abide by existing regulations.
The President made the remarks after Minister Sarwono detailed the poor conditions of Bira Island, mostly the result of razing vast tracts of forest vegetation in 1993 for the golf project.
Jakarta Deputy Governor of Development Affairs Idroes said yesterday that PT Pulau Seribu Paradise is facing a fine of hundreds of millions of rupiah for building the golf course without a building permit.
"The developer did process the land appropriation permit for the construction of the project in 1973 and renewed it in 1994, but not the building permit," Idroes said.
"Because the golf course does not have a building permit, the facility cannot be operated, even though its construction was completed early last year," he said.
Bira Island is one of the seven islands in the Seribu Island chain that belongs to the 108,000-hectare national marine park.
"The environmental impact analysis (Amdal) of the nine hole golf course on Bira Island is still being processed at the City Environment Office," Idroes said.
An Amdal is a mandatory assessment that must be presented by a developer to ensure that any development will not produce unwanted effects on the surrounding environment.
Last February, the city administration's commission on environmental impact turned down the developer's Bira Island analysis for the third time.
According to the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi), the study was rejected because it failed to meet the requirements set by the commission.
The rejected analysis was prepared by a consulting firm that had been hired by the golf course developers.
The study, for example, did not satisfactorily answer the Amdal Commission's questions regarding the use of harmful pesticides and water usage on the island, Walhi said.(31)