Muara Angke forest needs only slight upgrade

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The protected mangrove forest in Muara Angke, North Jakarta, has long served as a haven for different animals and as a research center for university students. Soon, it will also be the first eco-tourism site in the city.

In a visit to the forest on Saturday, The Jakarta Post found the city administration will not have to spend much money to create road access to the area, as there already is a three-meter-wide road encircling the 28-hectare forest.

Situated about 300 meters behind the Pantai Indah Kapuk Hospital, the dirt road to the forest -- parts of which were covered in grass -- was slippery because of recent rain.

The forest was quiet as no visitors were to be seen. Stilt birds could be seen on the edges of the marsh, searching for food.

A guard at one of the five modest security posts in the forest, Casin, said the area was home to a number of different birds and animals.

"Long-tailed monkeys, herons and monitor lizards are easily found here, in addition to various plants, which are often studied by university students," he said.

He said that groups of up to 50 monkeys lived in the forest, surviving on fruit from the trees, as well as cassava and bananas brought by visitors.

The swamp is also a stopping off place for many different types of birds from Rambut isle in the Thousands islands, Casin said.

"If you stay overnight here, you will see them. Of course, you have to deal with the mosquito bites," he said.

Visitors can only walk around the edge of the forest because most of the wooden walkways that allow visitors to go deeper into the forest have been closed.

Another forest guard, Prajaya, complained that the forest's coastline was choked with garbage because Jakartans continued to dump their trash into the city's rivers.

The city's plan to turn the mangrove forest into a tourist destination has been challenged by an urban planning expert from Trisakti University, Yayat Supriana, who cast doubt over the possible success of the venture.

"The weak spot of the Jakarta administration is that it often plans things poorly, so many projects are halted halfway through," he said.

"Past experience shows that there is no cooperation between the agriculture and forestry agency and the tourism agency. When something goes wrong, they will shift the blame to each other."