Selasa, 27 Ags 2019 20:07
Daerah : Jakarta
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Joko
Widodo (Jokowi) administration has assured that the development of the
capital city will not damage the environment and vowed that East
Kalimantan forests will remain intact.
This comes
after the government announced that parts of North Penajam Paser and
Kutai Kertanegara Districts in East Kalimantan Province would be the
location for the country’s new capital expected to be inaugurated in
2024, the year when Jokowi’s second term will end.
President
Jokowi told the media August 26, 2019 that the two districts were
selected, as they faced the least risks from natural disasters,
including floods, earthquake, tsunamis, forest fires, and landslides.
Moreover,
they are strategically located in the heart of Indonesia and near
Balikpapan and Samarinda that are developed cities. Hence, basic
infrastructure and facilities already exist. Besides, the government
owns 180 thousand hectares of land there.
The decision to move from Jakarta was based on a three-year study conducted by the government.
"The
results of the studies concluded that the ideal location for a new
capital city will be part of North Penajam Paser District and part of
Kutai Kartanegara District in East Kalimantan," President Jokowi, who
has been re-elected for the 2019-2024 term, noted.
The
work is expected to start in 2021 and cost up to Rp466 trillion
(US$32.3 billion) to be covered by the State Budget (Rp74.44 trillion),
Public-Private Partnership scheme (Rp265.2 trillion), and private
investment (Rp127.3 trillion).
Relocating the
capital city in Kalimantan has triggered debates on both sides. The
island, also known as Borneo, is considered “the lung of the world” as
it is home to vast forests that help absorb CO2.
Forests
are a stabilizing force for the climate. Approximately 2.6 billion tons
of carbon dioxide, one-third of the CO2 released from burning fossil
fuels, is absorbed by forests every year. Forests also regulate
ecosystems, protect biodiversity, play an integral part in the carbon
cycle, and support livelihoods.
Indonesia is home to the world’s third-largest tropical rain forest area after Brazil and Congo.
Located
near Balikpapan City, Bukit Soeharto Forest Park in Samboja
Sub-district, Kutai Kartanegara District, hosts the Wanariset Samboja
Orangutan Rehabilitation and Reintroduction Center, as well as an
education forest managed by the University of Mulawarman.
Balikpapan
also has the Sungai (River) Wain Protected Forest (HLSW) which has
extraordinary biodiversity including endangered fauna such as sambar
deer, orangutans (Pongo pygmaues), sun bears (Helarctos malayanus), and
nearly 200 species of birds.
Surrounding Balikpapan, are also many primary forests, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs on its coastal area.
The
primary forests and coasts are home to some 1,400 rare yellow-hair
proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus), leopards, dugong, crocodiles,
green turtles, 60 to 140 dolphins, 300 species of birds, 100 species of
mammals, and more than 1,000 species of trees, according to a research
conducted by Stanislav Lhota.
Being home to such
rich biodiversity, Balikpapan and its surrounding areas, including
Samboja and its Bukit Soeharto Forest Park, have been called "the last
fortress of lowland tropical forests in Kalimantan" by
environmentalists.
"It will cover a total area of
180 thousand hectares. Some 40 thousand hectares will become the main
area, and in future, it will be expanded to 180 thousand hectares. Half
of it would be green spaces, including preserved forest. In parts of
North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kertanegara, we have the Bukit Soeharto
preserved forest," National Development Planning Minister Bambang
Brodjonegoro said.
The government has yet to decide
on the specific delineation for the next capital. Environmental Affairs
and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya confirmed there were no difficulties
in preparing the exact location for the new capital city to be situated
between North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara, as forest area
allotment is changeable with government policy.
"As
we know, in addition to the Bukit Suharto Forest Park, there are also
conservation and production forests in the districts, and several of
them have obtained permits," she noted.
The
allotment of forest areas can be changed in line with the government’s
policy based on Government Regulation No. 104 of 2015 on Procedures for
Changing the Purposes and Functions of Forest Areas, she explained.
The
relocation is necessary for economic and development equity across the
country and to ease the burden on Java Island in general and Jakarta in
particular, Jokowi had explained earlier.
"The
burden of Java Island is getting heavier with the population reaching
150 million or 54 percent of Indonesia's total population, with 58
percent of Indonesia's economic GDP on Java Island," he said.
The central government studied numerous
locations in Java and concluded that the burden on Java would only
increase if the new capital were to remain there. It is Indonesia's
fifth-largest island after Papua, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi.
He pointed to Jakarta, as an administration and business center, also being overburdened.
Hosting
both government and business centers, Jakarta is currently facing major
problems of overpopulation, severe congestion, air pollution, and water
pollution.
(INE)
EDITED BY INE
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