Land agency order paves way for stricter flood control

JAKARTA (JP): Weeks before the recent downpours, flood watchers questioned the commitment to preserve natural and man- made catchments near housing complexes.

The government estimates that Rp 129.5 billion is needed to rehabilitate most of the 193 lakes in Jakarta and its surrounding areas partially lost to construction activities.

But this year, "We have to concentrate on repairing pumps and cleaning out rivers," says Siswoko, head of the Ciliwung-Cisadane river improvement project under the Ministry of Public Works.

He may be relieved to know that State Minister of Agrarian Affairs/Chairman of the National Land Agency Soni Harsono instructed his regional offices on Oct. 3 that location permits for all developers were no longer to be issued.

After halting permits for industrial sites, Soni also said land for housing areas is enough until 2018.

Soni cited indications of speculation; of 92,298 hectares of land which have acquired permits, only 13,276 hectares have been developed.

One official hopes that the instruction can enable the government to concentrate better on approaching developers to improve and preserve catchments.

Although there is hardly any land left, "The instruction will, at least, help local administrations to say no to developers actually asking for arable land," a source at the agency said.

So far, "Changes have been very surprising," Siswoko said.

To the north of Tangerang, 8,000 hectares are earmarked for the Teluk Naga tourism project.

In Bogor, 30,000 hectares are planned for the Bukit Jonggol complex, reportedly permitted on the condition that land owned by the Ministry of Forestry is compensated.

Two other developers are planning to develop 1,800 hectares.

Billboards announce new complexes, such as Bukit Sentul, lining the Jagorawi toll road and the road to Depok.

Last year, 220,736 hectares of arable land in Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi were transformed into roads, housing complexes and industrial areas.

After the floods earlier this year, the government announced its support to local administrations around Puncak, where uncontrolled development was blamed for the flooding.

In the wake of more rains, officials now remind us that the revived enforcement of the 1985 presidential ruling on catchments goes far beyond the above-mentioned mountain resort.

As the areas downstream are yet to receive political back up, will similar mistakes lead to more floods?

Soeparmono, director general of water resources, points out that 20 percent of runoff is from the rivers' upstream areas, while 40 percent is from the middle areas of the river basin.

The latter areas are where projects are springing up, due to relatively-cheap land and accessibility to towns. In the 1985 ruling, these districts, including Sawangan and Parung in Bogor and Ciputat and Pamulang in Tangerang, were categorized as kawasan budidaya (mixed areas), where housing is allowed to a certain extent.

A few examples do show some hope in regards of developers' environmental concerns.

* The Telaga Kahuripan, developed by PT Kuripan Raya in Parung, promises homes around two existing lakes, to which five other lakes will be added.

* Another firm, PT Wijaya Karya, shows it only uses paving blocks in its Bali-like "village" in the Ciputat district.

* A catchment well is built for a cluster of homes.

* A driving range, its manager says, is less harmful compared to a golf course.

But it is not good economics to have so much open space.

Also, developers feel exclusive country clubs and sports centers are a must and sharing a golf course with the public is considered rather degrading.

The only hope it seems is to increase the public's awareness of maintaining open spaces and catchments, especially among consumers with higher environmental awareness, who feel that exclusivity is no longer a sensible lifestyle. (anr)