Walhi criticizes government over land reclamation
Walhi criticizes government over land reclamation
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) charged yesterday that the municipal administration's Jakarta Bay reclamation plan is a shortcut taken without due attention to environmental and societal impacts.
"There will be great changes in social, cultural and economic structures, as well as in ecology, due to the implementation of the reclamation project," M.S. Zulkarnaen, a forum executive, said yesterday.
Speaking at a seminar, Zulkarnaen explained that currently the city administration thinks that land reclamation is cheaper than paying compensation for the establishment of new public facilities. He cited a lack of understanding that the cost of land reclamation will be much greater in the end due to the damage caused.
The two-day seminar, which was held by the study center for human resources and environment of the University of Indonesia, presented a number of experts from various fields from the university, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, the Navy and the environmental forum as speakers.
The city administration plans to reclaim Jakarta Bay to gain an additional 8.5 square kilometers of new land for the establishment of a waterfront city.
Concept
Currently the city administration is reviewing its concept of land reclamation. An environmental impact analysis is also being prepared for the project.
Martono Yuwono, an official of the Jakarta Development Planning Board, told participants of the seminar that the city administration is still studying every aspect of land reclamation so as not to hurt the environment and the public.
Martono said that the land reclamation is designed to help solve problems relating to the shortage of land.
He said that similar land reclamation projects have been done by private institutions in Pantai Indah Kapuk, Pantai Mutiara and Sunda Kelapa.
"There is nothing wrong about the city administration's using the opportunity to take advantage of land reclamation," he said.
"The administration will implement a cross subsidy policy to finance the construction of the project," he said without giving details.
He added that currently several gubernatorial decrees regarding the cross subsidy policy have been issued.
P.L. Coutrier, an executive of the Agency for Environmental Control, urged the city administration to conduct a thorough study since land reclamation will affect the environment, especially mangrove forests and sea creatures.
"It is also important to conduct an integrated environmental impact analysis because this is a huge project," P.L. Coutrier said.
He explained that since the project will take at least 15 years, the analysis should be completed as soon as possible to explore its feasibility. (yns)