Proper planning, funding needed to handle floods
Proper planning, funding needed to handle floods
JAKARTA (JP): Floods will remain a headache as long as the
government lacks the coordination and financial support to solve
the worsening problem, State Minister for Environment Sarwono
Kusumaatmadja warned yesterday.
Most of the 13 rivers that empty into Jakarta Bay originate
from the Puncak area, a popular holiday resort in the regencies
of Bogor and Cianjur.
Sarwono suggested that relevant officials in the areas find
integrated ways to control the seasonal floods that have often
wrought havoc in Jakarta -- a low-lying area with a population of
about 10 million people.
"Proper spatial planning is one aspect that requires serious
attention," he said at a hearing with the House of
Representatives Commission X on the environment.
Floods in various areas, particularly Jakarta, were among the
hottest topics at the meeting chaired by House member Muhamad
Muas from the ruling political party, Golkar.
Jakartans saw the biggest flooding in many years a fortnight
ago when major rivers overflowed, forcing thousands of families
to flee their inundated homes. The natural disasters that caused
a loss of several billion rupiah also triggered horrendous
traffic problems for a couple of days.
Sarwono said the fast growing population hampers efforts to
control flooding in the city. The current population density of
Jakarta is 16,000 people per square kilometer and that of
neighboring Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi is 1,800 per square
kilometer.
The population pressure has had numerous consequences, such as
encroachment on river banks and garbage dumping that speeds up
sedimentation, he said.
Among government officials, he said, there is a common
misperception that river management is the sole responsibility of
the public works ministry.
"In fact the various related ministries can link up and design
an integrated approach to managing the rivers," he said.
Seen from a global perspective, he added, the flooding in
Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia is a result of global warming
due to the depletion of the ozone layer.
The increased warming near the earth's surface, referred to as
the "greenhouse effect", because the earth's atmosphere traps the
sun's rays, has contributed to the global climate change.
Aca Sugandhi, Sarwono's assistant in charge of policies, said
that global warming has raised sea levels because it caused the
ice at the poles to melt. Low-lying coastal areas, like Jakarta,
are in danger if the sea levels rise significantly, he said.
(pan)