A Strike Against Jakarta Reclamation

Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 18 Aug 11;

A land reclamation project on Jakarta’s north coast has led to land disputes, damage to infrastructure and a drop in water quality, according to a new report .

The study, which was done by the Danish-based consultant DHI Water and Environment at the request of the Environment Ministry, which opposes the reclamation, pointed to a number of negative impacts that have and will result from the project, which has been the subject of a long-running legal battle.

Results from the Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) for Coastal Development in Jakarta Bay were released on Thursday.

According to the report, the reclamation project has caused land disputes in the surrounding areas, has had direct and indirect impacts on the existing infrastructure and has caused a drop in water quality. It also pointed out that the environmental impact analysis had been conducted in parcels, and should have been done in an integrated fashion.

The reclamation project, first proposed in 1994, calls for up to 1.5 kilometers of land to be reclaimed from the sea along with some 32 kilometers of coastline. A total of 2,700 hectares would be reclaimed, with another 2,500 hectares of land in North Jakarta to be revitalized.

However, the project has been held up by a long-running legal battle between the Environment Ministry and the city administration.

The REA found that in the construction phase, coastal pollution would be the main issue as the sites were dredged and filled. Marine and fishery activities will be affected and local fishermen will lose access to their fishing grounds, it said.

“Coastal pollution is the main issue from the reclamation activities, considering the high concentration of pollutants in the sediment and the fact that the locations being filled are fisheries areas,” the study said, adding that it would require strict environmental monitoring of the process.

In the operational phase, the REA said the reclamation would affect the sea surface, tourism, power plants, undersea pipes and cables, coastal line geomorphology and coastal area water quality due to waste pollution from the project.

If changes occur in the area’s water quality, hydrology and sedimentation, it will eventually hit the remaining mangrove populations, which serve as conservation areas, the report said.

Imam Hendargo, deputy for spatial planning at the environment ministry, said the ministry was not against reclamation projects, but they needed to be done in accordance with requirements.

“The REA serves as an ‘express policy alternative’ because the regional spatial planning [RTRW] is not finalized yet, and the strategic environmental assessment has recommended that there should be changes in the RTRW,” he said.

The 2009 Environmental Management and Protection Law stipulates that each spatial planning study by regional or central governments must include strategic environmental assessments in the development plans.

“If the RTRW is not yet finalized, then all activities in the areas must be discontinued,” Imam said. “It has to be stopped until the new regional spatial planning study is released.” He added that the companies involved needed to prepare an integrated environmental impact analysis, and not per project, as had been the case.