Professor laments lack of green areas

JAKARTA (JP): An ideal amount of space for city green areas in the capital is becoming more difficult to acquire due to the shortage of land, an expert said yesterday.

"I suggest the city administration should optimize any space it has, such as in residential areas, parks, roads and at roadsides," Zoer'aini Djamal Irwan, a landscape studies professor told The Jakarta Post.

Zoer'aini was inaugurated as a professor at the Trisakti University yesterday. She is the country's first female professor majoring in landscape study.

The 54-year-old professor was born in Talawi, Sawahlunto, West Sumatra. She has been involved in a large number of environmental and regreening research projects in many areas of the country. The mother of four children, she has also written more than 100 articles for local publications.

She said ideally, 40 percent of the land in the city would be used for green areas, "But it is almost impossible now," she added.

Currently, only 10 percent of Jakarta, with a total area of 65,000 hectares, is used for green areas, including 465 small parks.

The city administration has been trying to provide more green areas to reach 30 percent, or 19,500 hectares.

The City Council has urged the city administration to step up its plan to restore the function of 290 parks, which are being used for other purposes.

However, some gas stations in the city, which were located in parks, had their permits revoked by the city administration to make room for more green areas.

But currently, only 25 of the 290 parks have been turned back to their original function.

She said city officials involved in the regreening project should have proper knowledge about taking care of plants. She cited the Program Sejuta Pohon (one million plants) campaign as an example, which was launched by the administration recently. "So many plants have died because no one knows how to take care of them. This is a weakness which needs to be overcome," she said. (jun)