Sutiyoso fronts idea for mangrove eco-tourism

Sutiyoso fronts idea for mangrove eco-tourism

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso on Friday hinted that his administration was
mulling over a plan to turn a section of the coastal mangrove
forest in Muara Angke, North Jakarta, into an ecotourism site.

"There are hundreds of monkeys there in the forest ... now
they are in poor condition. As we want to restore the ecosystem,
we plan to, at the same time, convert the area into an ecotourism
site, just like they've done in Singapore," he announced to the
public.

He had just returned from a helicopter tour to check on the
location along with head of the City Agriculture and Forestry
Agency, Peni Susanti.

Sutiyoso said that he wanted the planned tourist destination
to be similar to the one in Sangeh, Bali, where visitors could
interact with monkeys that live freely in the recreational site.

"In the near future, we will first build access to the area
and restore the surrounding area. I don't think it will cost us
much money," he said, adding that the funding for such a project
could be taken from the city budget.

The mangrove forest is also near the site of a large city
reclamation project, which will convert the coastal
swamp/mangrove area into a residential and commercial area.

Peni claimed that the development of an ecotourism site inside
the Muara Angke mangrove forest was part of efforts to regreen
the capital.

"We plan to increase the green areas in the city to 13.9
percent of Jakarta's area by 2010, from the current 9 percent,"
said Peni.

Jakarta has a total area of 63,744 hectares.

Government Regulation No. 63/2002 on city forest stipulates
each city should have at least 10 percent green areas.

The forest acts, among other things, as the city's lungs,
water catchment area and maintaining the balance of the
ecosystem.

Peni revealed that the city administration had reclaimed five
green areas last year, and planned to issue another gubernatorial
decree on protected green areas to claim four more city forests.

The first five are the urban forests in Srengseng and in the
campus of the University of Indonesia, both in Depok, south of
Jakarta, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, the Halim Perdanakusumah
airbase and Sunter dam.

Four forests could also be declared protected areas, such as
in Manggala Wanabakti building compound in Senayan, South
Jakarta, also forests in Cibubur, Rawa Dongkal and the compound
of the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) in Cijantung, all in East
Jakarta.

"The gubernatorial decrees would ensure that the urban forests
could not be used for other purposes," Peni said.

Environmental activists have blasted the city administration
for its failure to protect green areas, such as parks, wooded
median strips and urban forests across the capital from being
occupied by more than 350 commercial buildings, including 350
fuel stations.

The activists say Jakarta should comprise 30 percent of green
space, including forests, to keep the capital in ecological
balance.

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Existing City Forests

Locations

Srengseng, South Jakarta 15 hectares
University of Indonesia campus, Depok 55.4 hectares
National Military Headquarters, Cilangkap, East Jakarta 15 hectares
Kemayoran, Central Jakarta 4.6 hectares
Manggala Wanabakti, Central Jakarta 4 hectares
Arboretum Cibubur, East Jakarta 25 hectares
Pluit dam in North Jakarta 6 hectares
Rawa Dongkal small lake 4 hectares
Babakan small lake, South Jakarta 5 hectares
Mangga Bolong small lake 2.3 hectares
Special Army Forces, Cijantung, East Jakarta 10 hectares
Srengseng, West Jakarta 15 hectares
PT Jakarta Industrial Estate, East Jakarta 11.5 hectares
Ragunan Zoo, South Jakarta 10 hectares
Sunter dam, North Jakarta 8.5 hectares
Pondok Indah, South Jakarta 5 hectares
Gedung Pemuda Cibubur, East Jakarta 10 hectares
Blok P, South Jakarta 1 hectares

Total area 195.8 hectares

Source: City Agriculture and Forestry Agency