Green Jakarta campaign launched
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Thursday launched Green Jakarta 2003, an environmental campaign to encourage people to plant as many trees as possible in the city.
The campaign, launched on World Environment Day, was marked with the symbolic planting of Matoa (Pometia pinnata), an endemic tree from Papua province, at the southern part of the National Monument (Monas) park, followed by the planting of endemic trees from other provinces.
In remarks made during the World Environmental Day ceremony, Megawati invited all residents in the city to plant trees in the yards of their houses in order to help the city become fresher.
"If each Jakarta resident wants to plant one tree, they will make a significant contribution to the environment in the city," Megawati added.
Jakarta has a population of more than eight million.
The president criticized the organizer of the campaign who used the English words of Green Jakarta and demanded the slogan be changed to incorporate Indonesian words, specifically Jakarta Hijau.
After planting the tree, Megawati inspected the controversial five-hectare deer zone and inspected the diorama inside Monas, which will be used to store the first Indonesian flag hoisted when Indonesia declared its independence on Aug. 17, 1945.
Sutiyoso told the audience that 150 trees provided by non- governmental organizations would be planted at the park on Thursday. More trees would later be planted in the city's five mayoralties and in the Kepulauan Seribu regency.
Sutiyoso also said 12 deer had been released at the Monas park, promising to increase the number to 20.
He said nothing about the death of a deer from blood loss and stress.
Based on the 2010 Jakarta Master Plan, the city plans to increase green areas from less than 10 percent of the city's total area of 661 square kilometers to 13.94 percent in 2010. This is still lower than the ideal figure of 30 percent, according to experts.
Hundreds of buildings -- small and big like police posts, electricity relay stations and fuel stations -- are still occupying parks and other places designated as green areas.
Inconstancy of the land use policy has also reduced the green areas in the city. Many areas have been changed into yellow areas for housing or red areas for commercial purposes, in accordance with changes to the city master plan.
As a result, a number of buildings like the Hotel Mulia in Senayan in Central Jakarta, Taman Anggrek Mall and Condominium in Grogol West Jakarta and the Pantai Indah Kapuk housing complex were built on former green areas.
Several commercial buildings are also being and will be constructed in Senayan, originally earmarked for sports facilities and green areas.