West Java needs 1.7b trees for reforestation

West Java needs 1.7b trees for reforestation

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Activist from the Sunda Environmental Observation Board (DPKLTS),
a non-governmental organization in West Java, said that based on
satellite images, deforested areas in West Java reached more than
600,000 hectares in 2002, or about 75 percent of the total
800,000 hectares of forest area in the province.

Sobirin, a researcher at the DPKLTS, said that at least 1.7
billion trees would be needed to restore the forests in West
Java, which are continuing to disappear.

Sobirin said the government repeatedly issued warnings to
illegal loggers, and had also launched the Citarum Bergetar
program to revitalize the Citarum River, one of the largest in
Indonesia.

"Regulations and programs by the provincial government are
only lip service and have yet to be implemented, because the
government doesn't have the courage to enforce the law," he said.

Sobirin also criticized a lack of coordination among
government agencies concerning environmental policies.

As an example, he cited the Jatigede Dam construction in
Sumedang regency, where the resettlement and regional
infrastructure ministry has insisted on the dam's construction to
provide water to farmers along the north coast of West Java.

At the same time, the West Java Forestry Office has failed to
conserve the forest along the Cimanuk River flow areas, which
will supply water to the planned dam, making its construction
useless.

"The main difficulty of reservoirs in West Java is the water
supply, because river flow areas have been damaged and cannot
provide water to the reservoirs. Why would they build more
reservoirs if there is no water?" he said.

Due to deforestation, West Java has extensive erosion
problems, with more than 33 million cubic meters of fertile earth
from the highlands lost to erosion.

Deforestation has also contributed to water shortages during
the dry season and flooding during the wet season.

Sobirin said West Java had a potential rainwater of 83 billion
cubic meters per year. But due to severe damage to forests in the
mountain areas, only about eight billion cubic meters is
absorbed, leaving the rest to flow back into the sea.

The head of the West Java Forestry Office, Endang Supriadi,
said the government recognized the urgency of dealing with
deforestation in the province.

He said that in order to prevent further deforestation, the
provincial government would prepare seedlings to regreen the
forests.