WALHI blames zoning plan for recent floods

WALHI blames zoning plan for recent floods

JAKARTA (JP): The confusing zoning and spatial plans in West
Java and Jakarta were the main cause of the recent floods in the
capital, according to the Indonesian Forum for the Environment
(Walhi).

The enforcement planning regulations has been weak, Arimbi
Heroepoetri, the Forum's manager of legal programs, said in a
statement released on Saturday.

"Walhi refutes the theory that the flood was merely a natural
cycle. The floods were mostly caused by human factors," Arimbi
said.

She said that the flood, which hit around 50 locations in
Jakarta early last week, was evidence of the damage done to the
eco system by people's lack of respect for the environment.

According to Walhi, undervaluing mangroves has been a mistake.
Mangrove forests, which function as buffers protecting low-lying
areas from floods, have been vanishing. The organization
highlighted that the administration failed to preserve the 25-
hectare mangrove forest in Muara Angke, and also allowed a
private developer to build office and luxurious housing
complexes, called Pantai Indah Kapuk, on another 500-hectare
mangrove forest.

The project has however been legalized, as has a plan to
reclaim 34 sq km of the North Jakarta coastal area and another
site in Teluk Naga, Tangerang, West Java.

Walhi also cited the construction of villas and bungalows in
the Puncak resort area in Bogor, West Java, as another factor
that triggered the biggest flood in the last 20 years in Jakarta.
The construction of housing complexes in the southern part of
Jakarta and Bogor has played a significant role in worsening the
environment, Arimbi said.

"It's a surprise that the decision and policy makers have not
been moved by the evidence to take comprehensive steps to deal
with the floods. As long as respect for environmental regulations
is still poor, flood problems will become standard," she said.

Walhi is demanding stricter enforcement of existing laws and
the publicizing of city development plans. Arimbi said.
"Residents who will be affected by any projects deserve detailed
information before the project is carried out."

The environmentalists' forum also wants the Jakarta and West
Java development patterns to be reviewed, especially the
development of infrastructures supporting the industrial estates.
"The burden on Jakarta and West Java as centers of industry, the
economy and education should be reduced," she said.

The construction of toll and ring roads needs to be reviewed,
too, as it has lured developers and people to build houses and
other buildings, which all damage the groundwater reservation
system, she said.

Hydrological functions of coastal areas must be given special
attention by, among other things, reviewing the decision to
reclaim the North Jakarta coast. "Walhi cannot accept the city
administration's decision to blame riverbank squatters for the
flood without taking any action against those building villas in
upper stream areas and those reclaiming the coasts," Arimbi said.
(sur)