JP/5/BANDUNG

JP/5/BANDUNG

Northern Bandung forest area threatened by new road

Yuli Tri Suwarni
The Jakarta Post
Bandung

The Juanda Dago forest (Tahura) in north of Bandung is at risk of
environmental damage as the provincial administration plans to
build a 7-kilometer road there. The road would connect Bandung
with the resort area of Lembang.

Recently, Vice Governor Nu'man Abdul Hakim said the
administration -- with the approval of the West Java legislative
council (DPRD I) -- had allocated funds of Rp 8 billion
(US$950,000) for land acquisition for the road, construction of
which would begin in June.

Nu'man said the road would reduce heavy traffic in Setiabudi
area, Juanda Dago subdistrict by providing an alternative route
for tourists traveling to Lembang.

"It could take more than four hours, the time that it takes to
fly between Thailand and India, just to reach Lembang on the
weekend. This condition influences the tourist industry and the
economy of the area," said Nu'man.

While he admitted the road had been conceptualized as far back
as the 70s, Nu'man shrugged off suggestions the construction of
hotels and shopping centers in Lembang would quickly follow.

The Bandung regental administration had previously planned to
develop the hill resort, but the idea was rejected on the grounds
that it would damage the environment.

Head of the public works office of the provincial
administration, Imanudin Lutfan, asserted the road would not
cause environmental damage as trees would be planted alongside it
to prevent soil erosion.

"The road would only be seven meters wide," he asserted.

He added that only 30 percent of land for the project would be
acquired from residents. The remaining 70 percent is owned by the
West Java Forestry Office, which manages the forest.

Several members of the legislature, as well as non-
governmental organization (NGO) activists and hydrology experts,
were doubtful of the administration's promises.

Irfan Ansori, head of the legislature's Commission F for
development and environmental issues, said the commission had not
been included in discussions on the project.

According to him, the provincial administration should
consider many things, including the unity of Tahura Juanda as a
conservation area, the preservation of the Bosscha Observatory --
which is in Lembang area -- and possible soil erosion.

"We will immediately summon the provincial administration to
seriously discuss the issue," said Irfan in Bandung on Tuesday.

Arwin Sabar, a hydrology expert from the environmental
engineering department of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB),
said the project would destroy forest and the catchment area
north of Bandung.

He said there were only three catchment areas left in Bandung,
namely Tahura Juanda, Situ Lembang, and Gudang Peluru, situated
nearby the Cikutra Heroes Cemetery.

"Should we destroy the remaining forest of Tahura Juanda just
so that rich people heading to Lembang suffer less traffic
congestion? Are there no alternative routes?" queried Arwin.

If the provincial administration insisted on a route between
Dago, in north Bandung and Lembang it would be better off
upgrading the road that connects the ITB lecturers' housing
complex, via Gunung Batu, to Maribaya, he suggested.

"The road is not steep. They would just have to acquire the
land from residents. It would be quite expensive, but the
environmental cost of destroying the forest would be greater," he
said.