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)