Jakarta should restore water catchment areas
Jakarta should restore water catchment areas
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As part of the effort to resolve the annual flood problem in
the capital, the city administration should give priority to
restoring those water catchment areas which have disappeared due
to their conversion to other functions, say city planning
experts.
Wahyudi Wisaksono of Trisakti University said that ideally the
city should allocate 25 percent of its land area for water
catchment, which is very important for accommodating water
falling during the rainy season.
"Because of continuous conversion of water catchment areas to
other functions, water catchment areas in our city now only
account for around 15 percent of the Jakarta land area," said
Wahyudi, an expert on environmental technology and landscape
architecture on Saturday.
Water catchment areas could take the form of open green areas,
squares, parks and greenbelts in the 67,000-hectare city.
According to Wahyudi, many water catchment areas in the
capital have been converted to various other functions, such as
fuel stations, residential areas and commercial centers.
Separately, the head of the city planning agency, Safrudin
Kanani, admitted that there were many water catchment areas whose
functions had been changed. He gave as an example the fact that
around 15 greenbelt sites in Jakarta were being used as fuel
stations.
One of them, located right under the Semanggi bridge, is owned
by Taufik Kiemas, husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Instead of immediately ordering the restoration of such water
catchment areas, Safrudin said that the administration would only
do so after the contract with the businessmen in question had
expired.
Meanwhile, city architect Marco Kusumawijaya stressed that
lack of commitment from the Jakarta city administration was the
reason why many green areas in Jakarta, which should have been
preserved as water catchment areas, had been converted to other
functions.
"They have drafted a city plan, but they always violate it.
Because of their inconsistency, the situation is becoming worse
and worse," Marco told The Jakarta Post on Saturday, adding that
such inconsistencies arose because of corrupt bureaucrats who
were easily lobbied by businessmen.
He cited the Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) luxury housing complex
in North Jakarta as an example of serious violation of the 1985-
2005 city plan as in the plan it was stated that the area should
be reserved for mangrove forests.
Marco said that the city administration should begin
formulating a long-term plan for comprehensively resolving the
annual flood problem in the city.
The public's support, according to Marco, was the key to the
success of any plan made by the city administration. Therefore,
strong leadership involving popular participation was necessary.
"Policies will be successful if the people voluntarily support
them. People, for example, will not dump garbage in the rivers or
people will not extend their houses by violating what has been
stated in the their permits as they will know what the
consequences are," he added.
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As part of the effort to resolve the annual flood problem in
the capital, the city administration should give priority to
restoring those water catchment areas which have disappeared due
to their conversion to other functions, say city planning
experts.
Wahyudi Wisaksono of Trisakti University said that ideally the
city should allocate 25 percent of its land area for water
catchment, which is very important for accommodating water
falling during the rainy season.
"Because of continuous conversion of water catchment areas to
other functions, water catchment areas in our city now only
account for around 15 percent of the Jakarta land area," said
Wahyudi, an expert on environmental technology and landscape
architecture on Saturday.
Water catchment areas could take the form of open green areas,
squares, parks and greenbelts in the 67,000-hectare city.
According to Wahyudi, many water catchment areas in the
capital have been converted to various other functions, such as
fuel stations, residential areas and commercial centers.
Separately, the head of the city planning agency, Safrudin
Kanani, admitted that there were many water catchment areas whose
functions had been changed. He gave as an example the fact that
around 15 greenbelt sites in Jakarta were being used as fuel
stations.
One of them, located right under the Semanggi bridge, is owned
by Taufik Kiemas, husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Instead of immediately ordering the restoration of such water
catchment areas, Safrudin said that the administration would only
do so after the contract with the businessmen in question had
expired.
Meanwhile, city architect Marco Kusumawijaya stressed that
lack of commitment from the Jakarta city administration was the
reason why many green areas in Jakarta, which should have been
preserved as water catchment areas, had been converted to other
functions.
"They have drafted a city plan, but they always violate it.
Because of their inconsistency, the situation is becoming worse
and worse," Marco told The Jakarta Post on Saturday, adding that
such inconsistencies arose because of corrupt bureaucrats who
were easily lobbied by businessmen.
He cited the Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) luxury housing complex
in North Jakarta as an example of serious violation of the 1985-
2005 city plan as in the plan it was stated that the area should
be reserved for mangrove forests.
Marco said that the city administration should begin
formulating a long-term plan for comprehensively resolving the
annual flood problem in the city.
The public's support, according to Marco, was the key to the
success of any plan made by the city administration. Therefore,
strong leadership involving popular participation was necessary.
"Policies will be successful if the people voluntarily support
them. People, for example, will not dump garbage in the rivers or
people will not extend their houses by violating what has been
stated in the their permits as they will know what the
consequences are," he added.