Regreening what?

Regreening what?

The "unplanned" felling of trees along Jl. Jend. Sudirman in
Jakarta has come as yet another shock to those who believe that
this polluted city needs more trees.

Worse, the decision to cut the trees was apparently made after
the administration admitted that the sacrificing of fast lanes to
make space for the special busway lanes has left some of
Jakarta's busiest thoroughfares too narrow to accommodate
traffic.

From the beginning, the busway project has evoked strong
criticism from many. However, unrelenting city officials have
demonstrated their ignorance of the situation and turned a deaf
ear to critics.

It was earlier stated that the lanes that were reduced in
width due to the construction of the busway lane needed to be
widened. Yet the head of the Jakarta Park Agency, Sarwo
Handayani, promised that not a single tree would be sacrificed.

"Ten trees will be planted to replace any single tree cut for
the road widening project," she was quoted by local media as
saying.

Now that at least 10 trees have been felled, Handayani and
other officials should explain whether 100 new trees will indeed
be planted in their place, and where they will be planted.

In this case, however, Handayani has shown herself to be a
person who prefers political rhetoric to one who does something
beneficial for the populace. Such officials have apparently
worked hard at developing Jakarta according to their own vision
and perception.

Let's go back to the City Regreening Drive in 1970, which was
meant to partially deal with environmental problems. Five years
later another similar campaign was launched, despite the absence
of concrete progress in the previous drive. Similar campaigns
were then launched in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and the most
recent drive, known as the Green Jakarta Program, which was
launched in 2003.

This list of regreening drives is evidence enough of the
failure of the administration to fulfill its commitment to make
the capital city clean, green and shady.

The most blatant example of the violation of the 2000 and 2003
regreening drives launched by Governor Sutiyoso was the cutting
of trees along Jl. Jend. Sudirman to make room for statues and
for the TransJakarta busway project. The administration has
contradicted its own policy.

It is alarming to realize that the city's experts have such
little understanding of the function of trees, especially those
on the median strip of thoroughfares such as Jl. Jend. Sudirman
or Jl. MH Thamrin.

This, again, is evidence that there has been no consistency in
the efforts made by the administration's officials to save
Jakarta from further environmental disasters, such as a drop in
the quantity and quality of groundwater. Air pollution will
inevitably become more severe with the disappearance of more
trees from the capital's streets.

It is public knowledge that many green areas and open spaces
have been turned into gas stations and commercial buildings.
Water catchments areas, even natural lakes, have been turned into
residential housing complexes.

The spatial or zoning plan and the city's master plan for
development has been altered to accommodate political or
financial ends. The rise of new shopping centers across the city
could be cited as clear examples.

According to experts, an individual ideally needs 7.81 square
meters of open space to get clean air. What Jakarta residents
have experienced is that the city has grown more and more dense
and the air more and more polluted. Jakarta is often cited as one
of the most polluted cities in the world. Unfortunately, the city
administration has failed to eliminate the scourge.

Flooding is posing a lingering problem, without serious
efforts being made by officials to overcome it. The reclamation
project of North Jakarta's coastal area is further proof of the
administration's lack of awareness of the danger of flooding.

Months before the rainy season started, an official told
reporters that thousands of city administration staffers, a
number of life savers and helicopters would be made available in
the case of flooding.

But what happened? During the recent floods, the public has
learned that even the early warning system for flooding was a
failure.

Jakarta needs more trees, more open spaces, more mangrove
forests. And also, Jakarta needs managers with vision who are
capable of developing the nation's capital in an integrated and
consistent manner, with a proper environmental approach.