Open, green spaces continues to disappear: Agency

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

The Jakarta Planning Agency said in a preliminary evaluation of the city's 2000-2010 master plan that open and green spaces in the capital had decreased by 14 percent in the last 19 years.

According to the agency, open and green spaces in Jakarta currently account for 21.5 percent of the city's total area of 65,680 hectares. That figure is smaller than in 1996 when there were 16,361 hectares of open and green space, or 24.9 percent of the total area of Jakarta. Nine years earlier, green space accounted for 18,910 hectares, or 28.8 percent of the city's area.

"This declining trend is not in line with our 2000-2010 master plan," the report said.

The agency held a workshop on Monday to discuss the issue. The workshop was attended by city councillors, city administration officials, non-governmental organizations and scholars.

The 2000-2010 master plan requires the administration to maintain the city's open and green spaces -- including parks, street greenbelts and riversides -- at 13.94 percent of the city's total area.

Environmentalists have repeatedly said that ideally, green areas should account for about 30 percent of the city's total area to help ease flooding and reduce air pollution.

The Jakarta Parks Agency reported earlier that over 300 properties -- including gas stations, police posts, power relay stations, shops and kiosks -- had occupied green areas.

The administration revised its 1985-2005 master plan in 1999, creating what is now the 2000-2010 master plan. The revision allowed more green space to be converted into business and commercial centers.

In its preliminary evaluation, the planning agency says squatters are partly responsible for the disappearance of green spaces, adding that the administration should also share some of the blame for its weak control over land use.

"The banks around many small lakes in South Jakarta and rivers in West Jakarta have been occupied by squatters, examples of illegal occupation," the report said.

The agency said many developers had illegally constructed buildings without first obtaining land use or building permits from the administration.

"In addition, many open and green spaces have been occupied by street vendors," it said.

Open and green spaces include areas like parks, city forests, median strips, rivers and small lakes. Some of the spaces are owned by private parties and therefore subject to conversion to other purposes.

Urban planning expert Marco Kusumawijaya said the administration's failure to protect the city's green spaces was symbolic of its shortcomings.

"It is related to the administration's absence of a far- sighted vision and comprehensive planning to manage the space professionally in accordance with its relevant functions," he said.

"The administration must have accurate and valid data on the real situation of the land as well as its functions. Otherwise, how they can manage it in accordance with the master plan?" he said.