Antara 6 Jun 10;
Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said 19 districts in West Sumatra were vulnerable to ecological disasters due to ongoing environmental degradation.
"The potency of ecological disasters remains high in West Sumatra Province as a result of ongoing environmental damages," Executive Director of Walhi-West Sumatran office, Khalid Syaifulla, said.
Speaking to newsmen here Saturday in response to the 2010 World Environment Day, he said the provincial and district governments had yet to take serious measures to rescue the environment.
Due to its geographical typology, West Sumatra was vulnerable to such natural disasters as floods, landslides, and droughts.
Over the past five years, the West Sumatrans could be seen having undergone fatal flooding and landslides, he said.
In the first five months of 2010 alone, 21 floods and 12 landslides hit such cities and districts as Padang, Sawahlunto, Bukittinggi, Padang Panjang, Limapuluhkota,
Sijunjung, Agam, Padang Pariaman, Pesisir Selatan, Solok, and Pasaman Barat.
These ecological disasters killed nine people and destroyed 600 hectares of farming and tens of houses, he said.
Khalid Syaifulla said West Sumatra was also located in the ring of fire belts in which the province had three volcanic mountains, namely Mt Tandikek, Mt Merapi, and Mt Talang.
Despite these latent threats, the local governments were not yet aware of the importance of having comprehensive policies to respond these challenges, he said.
Instead of making pro-people and sustainable development-oriented policies, local and central governments still facilitated those over-exploiting natural resources in West Sumatra, he said.
This year, the Mentawai Isles district government, for instance, had welcomed the opening of 79,000 hectares of palm plantation.
The West Sumatra provincial government had also proposed the change of protected land`s status into other functional status to smooth mining activities within 173,287 hectares of land, he said.
"In the future, West Sumatra will likely harvest various ecological disasters as a result of worsening environment and neglecting people`s safety," he said. (*)
