Merely dreams, not reality: Jakarta city forests, green areas
Merely dreams, not reality: Jakarta city forests, green areas
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta, heavily polluted by choking exhaust fumes, is hot during
the dry season but is often hit by floods during the rainy
season.
No wonder. Jakarta's total area of only 63,744 hectares,
inhabited by more than 10 million residents, has only 200.7
hectares of forest, or about 0.3 percent of the total area.
According to government regulations, forest should comprise 10
percent of the total area.
Hot weather, polluted air and floods, which have become
commonplace in the capital, are simply impacts of the chronic
lack of forest, which acts as the city's lungs.
And along with other forests outside Jakarta and green areas,
forests in the city also function as water catchment areas.
Trees in the city absorb hazardous gas emissions and produce
fresh air, and also serve to absorb water during the rainy
season, thus minimizing floods.
Governor Sutiyoso admitted on Thursday that his administration
had long neglected environmental issues while it built roads and
buildings.
"Our administration, especially the City Public Works Agency,
often fells trees to construct buildings or roads although I have
ordered them to replant new trees instead of cutting trees,"
Sutiyoso said at City Hall in his opening address of a seminar to
make governmental regulations on city forests.
However, he failed to mention anything about the disappearance
of forested areas, including in Tomang, West Jakarta, or the
dwindling protected forest in Angke Kapuk, North Jakarta.
Sutiyoso's administration has also failed to prevent more than
350 buildings, including fuel stations, police posts, power relay
stations, shops and kiosks, from occupying green areas, such as
parks, median strips and greenbelts.
"But, in fact, I am planning to carry out reforestation in
areas like Kemayoran and Gelora Bung Karno, but the plan has been
hampered by the state secretary," Sutiyoso said, referring to the
right of the central government to manage the now-defunct
Kemayoran airport and the Bung Karno Sports Stadium.
The City Administration and State Secretary have been engaged
in a political tug-of-war recently to win control of the two
income-generating assets.
Sutiyoso vowed to implement a reforestation scheme in the two
areas if they were under his administration's control.
"There will be no construction of buildings for commercial
purposes like malls or hotels. We will run them at a loss, not
for profits, as done by the state secretary. We have our own
financial sources."
Meanwhile, the head of the city's Agriculture and Forestry
Agency, Peni Susanti, said it had targeted increasing forest
areas by up to 13 percent of Jakarta's total area by 2010.
Peni said there were 200.7 hectares of city forests, but only
85.70 hectares had been officially declared as forest in
accordance with the gubernatorial decrees.
The forests were located in Srengseng, South Jakarta (15
hectares), the University of Indonesia campus in Depok (54.40
hectares), Sunter dam in North Jakarta, Kemayoran in Central
Jakarta (4.6 hectares) and Halim Perdanakusuma in East Jakarta
(3.5 hectares).
Peni said her office would propose the governor issue decrees
stipulating the remaining 115 hectares be designated forests. The
decrees would be needed to prevent the areas being used for
commercial or other purposes.
The areas are located in the PT Jakarta Industrial Estate in
East Jakarta, the Pluit dam in North Jakarta, Ragunan Zoo in
South Jakarta, Blok P in South Jakarta, Cibubur in East Jakarta,
National Military Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta,
Special Army Forces in Cijantung in East Jakarta, Manggala
Wanabakti in Central Jakarta and Gelora Bung Karno or Senayan
Stadium in Central Jakarta.
Environmental activists say that Jakarta should comprise 30
percent green space, including forests, to keep the capital in
ecological balance.