Minister stands up for Bosscha, conservation areas

Minister stands up for Bosscha, conservation areas

Riva Fadillah and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim raised his
opposition on Tuesday against the plan to develop a tourism
resort in conservation areas around the Bosscha Observatory in
Lembang, West Java, saying the move may lead to the closure of
the historical observatory.

"The Bosscha Observatory is a national asset, we must preserve
it," Nabiel told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Bosscha Observatory is the closest observatory to the equator
in the world.

Nabiel blasted the Bandung administration for its issuing a
bylaw that would violate the existing landscape, which has
already suffered from unchecked development and ensuing
environmental degradation.

"This has become my concern. City councils usually approve the
change of an existing landscape to turn conservation areas (into
commercial areas). They always play the game when there is a
(commercial) project," he said.

Nabiel asserted that any private company interested in
developing a tourism resort around the observatory must provide
the required Environmental Assessment Analysis (Amdal) before
embarking on the project.

Residents living near the observatory have also expressed
their strong opposition to the resort project, fearing
considerable environmental damage to the area around the
observatory.

Djunaedi, 30, a security guard who lives in the area, said on
Tuesday that a tourism site would endanger both the observatory
and neighboring residents.

"Rampant development of housing complexes around the
observatory has caused environmental degradation. The most
obvious proof is the way the temperature here has risen
gradually," he said.

The hill where the observatory is located has also been
deforested, and is another proof of the environmental degradation
in the area, he added.

Another resident, 44-year-old Neneng, rejected the proposed
development of a resort area near the observatory, saying it
would damage Lembang's environment.

"The presence of the observatory helps us and Bandung
residents to conserve our environment, preventing possible
landslides and loss of water supplies," she said.

Neneng, who has been living in the area since 1981, also
raised her skepticism as to whether people at the resort would
respect the observatory's rules like she and other residents do.

Residents who live within 2.5 kilometers of the observatory
turn off their lights every time scientists at Bosscha gaze into
space using its world-class telescopes.

"Will other people obey the rules? Otherwise, it would disturb
the scientific work." she said.

West Java Governor Danny Setiawan made an impromptu visit to
Bosscha Observatory on Tuesday morning, in a response to mounting
criticisms against his administration for granting permission to
a private company to construct a tourism site in the formerly
designated conservation areas nearby.

Bosscha Observatory head Moedji Raharto said Setiawan asked
him about environment-related matters.

"We have a regulation that an area measuring 2.5 kilometers in
radius from the observatory must be clear of houses and
buildings. However, the illegal development of housing complexes
and luxury villas continue to date," Moedji said.

The telescopes at the observatory could only have a clear view
of outer space if it was situated at least one kilometer away
from houses and buildings, as the lights would interfere with
their ability to look at stars located thousands of light-years
away.

In Australia, he said, the construction of housing complexes
and buildings are banned within a radius of 50 kilometers from an
observatory.

The Bandung administration recently allowed private company PT
Baru Adjak to develop 75 hectares of land located a few
kilometers below the observatory, previously a conservation area,
into a tourism site.

Environmentalists and scientists, as well as the public, have
criticized the controversial bylaw -- Bylaw No. 1/2003 -- that
turned the conservation area into a commercial development site.

The lights from housing complexes, hotels and commercial
buildings would increase light and air pollution and hamper the
activities of the observatory, which has already lost 50 percent
of its visibility.

Ten years ago, it could still see stars 3,000 light-years
away; today, it can only see stars 1,500 light-years from earth.