Govt to convert swamp into productive areas

Govt to convert swamp into productive areas

JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to transform large tracts
of swamp into commercially productive areas such as paddy fields,
cash crop plantations, fisheries and even residential areas, a
senior official from the Ministry of Public Works says.

Director General for Water Resource Development Soeparmono
said on Tuesday that Indonesia currently has 33 million hectares
of swamp, nine million hectares of which could be converted into
productive land.

The government has already converted 5.6 million hectares of
swamp into paddy fields and 1.2 million hectares into fish ponds.

Soeparmono said tracts of swamp found along the coasts of
Sumatra, Kalimantan and Irian Jaya have already been earmarked
for various projects, from palm oil plantations to settlements.

Speaking at a seminar on the lowland development concept, he
said the projects could generate new job opportunities for 15
million people.

"Swamps are quite strategic in easing unemployment and
eradicating poverty," he asserted.

He quickly addressed fears from environmental groups that
filling in swamps would upset the ecological balance and
therefore harm the environment. He stressed that the
environmental impact was taken into consideration when local
administrators drew up their spatial zoning plans.

"Many swamps have been allocated for natural reserves to
conserve the environment and maintain ecological systems in
coastal areas," he assured.

Japan, which has developed the technology, will help Indonesia
develop the swamp areas, Soeparmono said. (rms)