Saving Puncak's damaged environment

Saving Puncak's damaged environment

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Efforts by the National Spatial Planning Coordinating Board to curb development projects in the Bogor- Puncak-Cianjur area may hardly bear fruit, a noted environmentalist has warned.

Bianpoen, an expert at the Environment Study Center of the University of Indonesia, said the board's planned programs are just a repetition of old ones.

"There is nothing new in their plans. A few years ago they (board members) pledged to deal with this issue. Nothing came out of it. The problem has become more complicated now," he said in reaction to the government's newest plan to tighten control on development in the Bogor-Puncak-Cianjur area.

Last Wednesday, State Minister/Chairman of the National Development Planning Board Ginanjar Kartasasmita told members of the House of Representatives that the government has established a team to handle development in the Bogor-Puncak-Cianjur area, which has been designated as a water catchment area for Jakarta and its surrounding areas.

The spatial planning board, chaired by Ginanjar, coordinates representatives from the State Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Home Affairs and the Jakarta and West Java administrations.

Ginanjar said the team will promptly take the necessary action to turn the area back into Jakarta's watershed.

Bianpoen said that the board will be unable to work properly because it will not touch the grassroots problems.

"The key question in this case is the violations of existing laws by those who are directly involved in controlling the ungoverned construction of villas, hotels and other buildings on the protected zones," he pointed out.

The government, he said, has shown its political willingness to deal with this issue as manifested in a presidential decree issued during the Old Order government, and in two presidential decrees and several other provincial decrees under the New Order government.

Problems have emerged because the laws are not enforced by officials from the West Java provincial government, he said. Therefore, the most important person who can handle any violation is the West Java governor, he suggested.

The government, alarmed at the rapid development of Puncak, called for a stop to it as far back as 10 years ago. But construction continued, with the local administration complaining that "powerful" people were behind much of the development.

"The governor is the key figure with the power to order his subordinates to stop issuing building permits for the construction of any structure in this protected area," Bianpoen insisted.

"The board has no direct authority as it can only give recommendations to help the government and local administration solve the problem. Therefore, the establishment of such a board will not be effective," Bianpoen explained.

He said the government has taken action against violators, resulting in the demolition of many buildings. However, only a few unscrupulous officials have been punished so far.

Koesnadi Hardjasumantri, an expert on environmental law, commented that the existing laws and the criminal code only stipulate punishment for those violating the law on zoning.

Existing laws specify that those violating preserved areas and damaging the ecosystem could be jailed up to 10 years and fined a maximum of Rp 200 million (US$100,000).

"There is no law which specifically mentions punishment for government officials who help people damage the environment. We should create one," said Hardjasumantri, a professor of law at the University of Indonesia.

Identify

Bianpoen suggested the government identify the realm, overall environmental damage in the Puncak area.

"So far, the government has only made a rough estimation on the damages and applied quick fixes to this critical problem," he said.

The government should take immediate action against violators and corrupt bureaucrats, otherwise people will loose their trust in the authorities. The government should promptly restore the damaged areas and transform them into their original form.

Many experts, he said, have warned the government about the damage in Puncak but it has not been able to the control violations.

Such is the environmental condition in the area that it has caused serious floods like the ones that hit the capital last month, not to mention possible severe droughts in the coming dry seasons, which will likely fall between April and August this year, Bianpoen warned.

"There will come a time when water in Greater Jakarta's rivers and wells will run dry because of environmental degradation in the upstream Bogor-Puncak-Cianjur area where most of the city's 13 rivers start," he said.

Risnanto, an expert at the National Land Agency, revealed that the Puncak area, which covers 12,615 hectares, is only able to absorb between 7 percent and 17 percent of the rainfall. Annually, 3,500 mm of rainwater, or 596 million cubic meters of rainwater, fall in this protected area.

The area covered by residential and commercial buildings reached five million square meters in l987. Now, areas covered by buildings have greatly increased due to rapid development, Risnanto said.

The expansion of dwelling and commercial districts have reduced the capability of the Puncak area to appropriately absorb rainwater. More than 260 million cubic meters of rainwater that fall in the area go down the slopes of the hills and mountains and into the rivers that run through Jakarta.

This excessive runoff also creates serious erosion. Erosion has washed away 193 tons of mud a year. This means that around 501,800 tons of mud will flow into rivers in Jakarta every year. The maximum level of erosion in the Puncak area should not exceed between 12.5 tons and 14 tons a year, said Risnanto.

This condition will create hazardous water crisis both in the form of flooding and water shortages. In rainy seasons, devastating floods will probably occur in Greater Jakarta because of the excessive water runoff from Puncak. On the other hand, Jakarta and its surrounding areas will face a serious water shortage in dry seasons because of a lack of groundwater reserves in the upstream areas.

Transtoto Handhadari, an expert at the Ministry of Forestry, said the government can make a breakthrough by applying the most recent biotechnology in the restoration of the damaged areas. These areas can be planted with trees that have large and straight roots to enable the soil to absorb more rainwater. To increase groundwater reserves, he also suggested that the government build more water ponds, dams and reservoirs.

Such efforts will reduce erosion to only 13 tons of mud annually and increase the soil capability to absorb rainwater to 30 percent, Handhadari concluded.