Prevention better than cure

Prevention better than cure

Heart warming though it is to see local Jakartans uniting to
gather goods and money for distribution to those affected by the
recent floods, two questions must be asked in regard to this
situation. Firstly, why was such devastation wrought during only
a relatively mild monsoon? And secondly, what is being done by
those in power to prevent the recurrence of such a catastrophe?

In all reality, this situation should not have occurred, nor
could it, had the guidelines for planning and development (as set
down by the Indonesian government) been adhered to.

A relatively stringent set of provisions exists to prevent any
widespread exploitation of the environment for capital gain by
individuals and companies, and harsh penalties exist (on paper at
least) for those who breach them.

Unfortunately, it has now become common practice for these
regulations to be flouted by private enterprises for the sake of
short-term capital gain, with clear felling of pristine rain
forests, rampant urban expansion and unchecked dumping of waste
materials into waterways all occurring at the apparent
indifference of authorities.

As a result we see up-stream catchment areas denuded of trees
in order to make space for yet another multileveled plaza or a
bigger five-star hotel; when it rains now, water which should
have been trapped in natural reserves has nowhere to go but down
stream, the result of which we saw recently: catastrophe.

While it is true that this latest disaster could not have
occurred without the influence of nature, for reasons stated, it
cannot be considered as a purely natural disaster, unless the
authorities significantly reorder their priorities and shift
their focus from short-term gain to more sustainable,
ecologically viable development (as would occur were the current
regulations enforced more vigorously), we can expect to see more
and more episodes like the one just passed.

It is just unfortunate that those who pay the greatest price
for the greed and myopia endemic among developers are the poor,
and because they have so little to begin with their losses are
all the more profound.

So while I applaud the efforts of those good enough to
unquestioningly collect food, materials and funding for the less
fortunate fellows, I continue to ask myself "should they be doing
this job at all?"

It seems that we prefer to unite and work together after
disaster strikes rather than acting in solidarity to prevent it
taking place at all.

ANDREW CLIFT

Jakarta