Kaliurang suffers increased environment damage
Kaliurang suffers increased environment damage
Mimin Dwi Hartono, Contributor, Yogyakarta
Located 950 meters to 975 m above sea level on the
slopes of Mt. Merapi is Kaliurang, which encompasses an area of
250 hectares.
It has grown rapidly since it was developed as a tourist
resort in the 1980s, and has now become a well-known holiday
resort in the Yogyakarta area.
Coming under the jurisdiction of the three
hamlets of Kaliurang Barat, Kaliurang Timur and
Kaliurang Selatan, the resort has become one
of the province's main sources of income, thanks to
its rapid physical development.
This can be observed from the rapid increase in the number of
hotels and inns. In 1994, for example, there were only about
75 hotels and inns in Kaliurang. As of September 2004, the number
had increased to no fewer than 250. That excludes hundreds of
dwellings built by locals that reside in the region, whose
population totals some 3,535.
Both the local community and investors have enjoyed the
economic benefits of development. One thing is for sure -- many
Kaliurang residents make a living from tourism-related
activities.
Environmental damage exacts high cost
Compared with people from neighboring villages, Kaliurang
people are perceived as more prosperous and wealthy. Yet, they
are having to pay a high cost, in the form of environmental
damage.
The local government seems not to have anticipated the impact
of massive physical development on Kaliurang by its failure to
produce government policies that take account of landscape
design as well as nature conservation.
It seems to have forgotten that Kaliurang is one of the
region's main water catchment areas. As a result,
uncontrolled development has had a negative impact. One example
of this is a lack of clean water supply in the region.
Such a problem is not one that occurs in an instant. There are
reasons behind it, which can be traced back to both
natural and human factors.
Damage caused by nature
The natural factor is the Nov. 22, 1994, disaster caused by a
hot cloud that emerged from Mt. Merapi, which damaged some 700
hectares of Mt. Merapi forest. Further damage
occurred on October 2002 when a forest fire destroyed
another 300 hectares of Mt. Merapi forest.
Both, of course, affected the ability of the damaged
area to absorb rainwater, causing a significant
reduction in water availability. Some water sources even dried up
completely because of it.
Before the 1994 incident, the water supply for
Kaliurang was provided by natural springs at Umbul Madohan, Umbul
Candi and Umbul Kletak, which are located on the upper reaches of
the Boyong River, as well as from Umbul Muncar and Umbul Wadon
water springs on the Kuning River.
However, as the disaster also damaged the pipeline from the
Boyong River, the main supply of clean water for Kaliurang, ever
since, has been provided only by Umbul Wadon and partly from
Umbul Muncar.
With a debit of 16 liters per second at Umbul Wadon
and two liters to five liters of water per second at Umbul
Muncar, it is of course difficult for both of the water
springs to fulfill the demand of Kaliurang's population for clean
water -- a demand that keeps increasing due to its
development as a natural holiday resort.
This is where the problem began.
No sense of urgency was shown in the local government's
policies. Instead of restoring the damaged water pipeline and
forest, it focused more on the massive physical development of
the area that rapidly increased the population there.
Physical development must take into account the existing water
supply in the region. That excludes the lack of awareness by
local people that they are experiencing a water crisis, which has
worsened the situation.
Damage attributable to human factors
Human factors, meanwhile, involve two things, i.e.
individual human behavior and local government policies.
The community still lives under the misperception
that water is something that will always be there, that it can be
exploited for as long as it wants.
The people are ignorant of environmental issues, too. A recent
survey revealed that 90 percent of Kaliurang's population did not
know about the existence of Umbul Wadon, much less its location.
How could they respect or care for it if they knew nothing
about it?
Another equally important factor is unclear
policies issued by the local government regarding the
resort.
At present, for example, there has yet to be a
clear land use plan for the development of Kaliurang as a holiday
resort that controls physical development.
Although this may not have a direct impact on the supply of
clean water in Kaliurang, it would certainly limit the reduction
in the water catchment surface in the area.
It is ironic that Kaliurang, a water catchment area, is
experiencing a lack of clean water supply.
However, this is always the case when development occurs in an
uncontrolled manner and ignores the environment while at the same
time the local community is unaware of the importance of
environmental conservation.
Development must be controlled
At present, therefore, what is needed to save Kaliurang is to
stop the uncontrolled construction of more hotels and inns at the
resort, mostly by outsiders, and the implementation of a clear,
strict policy regarding land use at the resort.
Local people should also be encouraged to use water more
carefully, while consciously preserving the existing forest and
natural water springs.
Otherwise, Kaliurang will sustain serious damage. It would be
a shame if the resort were to suffer the same fate as the Dieng
Plateau tourist resort in Wonosobo, Central Java, which had to
put the brakes on further development due to damage to its
environment.
Kaliurang has generated prosperity for its local community and
has become one of the province's main sources of income.
Whether such prosperity will be sustainable very much depends
on how local people and the local government treat the Kaliurang
environment in particular, and that of the whole area around Mt.
Merapi in general.
Therein also lies the right of future generations to a better
environment and living circumstances.