Paying for past sins

For the millions of Indonesians who live in Jakarta and elsewhere in cities and villages along Java's north coast, the spells of rain that have started to lessen and shorten with the approach of March must be bringing a definite sense of relief.

For them, few things that might have happened in the past few weeks, apart from the death of close friends or relatives, are likely to erase the memory of the suffering that the floods inflicted on them.

By any account, the floods, which have washed over many parts of the northern parts of Java in the past weeks and days, are the most serious that have occurred on this island in decades. In Jakarta, the country's capital, tens of thousands of people are even now still awaiting food relief for them and their children, and shelter to replace homes that have been destroyed. Dissatisfaction over the local government's handling of the disaster is driving some citizens to ponder taking class action against the authorities they hold responsible.

But grave as the problem may have been in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital is certainly not the only location that has suffered from the consequences of what is, in the view of many analysts and observers, an expression of nature's wrath against man's ill-treatment of the environment.

From Indramayu, in the Cirebon area of West Java, to Batang, Pekalongan, Semarang and Juana in northern Central Java, and to Bondowoso and Situbondo in the east, floodwaters, caused by heavy rain and excessive sedimentation of riverbeds as a result of environmental destruction, have brought death and misery to the population.

Along the north coast of Central Java, floodwaters also disrupted vital communication links and economic arteries between towns and cities located within the area and to areas to the east and west. Towns were isolated and vital railway links between the important northern Central Java port city of Semarang in Central Java and the industrial areas and ports around Cirebon and Jakarta, for example, were rendered unusable for days.

Considering the impact that all this has made on the lives of millions of Indonesians in the area, it seems no exaggeration to say that what happened over these past few days amounted to a tragedy of national dimensions. All the more so, as the government is currently in no position to extend the assistance that is needed, and since one cause of the damage was man-made, and therefore avoidable.

One lesson that the recent tragedy must have made us painfully aware of is what, in real and tangible terms, environmental preservation means to our own well-being as human beings. Admittedly, it may be a bit late to put right the mistakes that earlier administrations made in this respect, knowingly or otherwise.

Only now, for example, are the authorities in Jakarta taking a closer look at questionable construction projects such as the Pantai Indah Kapuk luxury housing development scheme at Jakarta Bay. Also, closer attention is only now being given to the continuing construction of villas in the Puncak mountain resort area, which was designated a protected water catchment long ago. Similar cases are known to exist elsewhere, not only in Java.

In any event, given the disastrous consequences of our mistakes of the past, no time should be lost in carrying out the corrective measures needed. True, they are much easier said than done. A lot of factors are involved, including a corrupt mentality within the bureaucracy and ignorance among the population. However, we can see no other alternative to getting the job done.

What better heritage could we leave our children and grandchildren than a living environment that was healthy and intact?