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)