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Jatigede project meets opposition

An environmental group has criticized the planned construction of Jatigede dam in Sumedang, West Java, saying it would destroy the environment and threaten the livelihoods of farmers in 13 villages

The Jakarta Post
Sumedang
Mon, March 17, 2008

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Jatigede project meets opposition

An environmental group has criticized the planned construction of Jatigede dam in Sumedang, West Java, saying it would destroy the environment and threaten the livelihoods of farmers in 13 villages.

"Look at the Kedungombo Dam (in Boyolali, Central Java). Many farmers had to be evicted ... to land they can't even cultivate," Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) national food and water campaigner Dinar Rani Setiawan said in a meeting between the organization and villagers here Friday.

"The government has resettled them to live near the dam and work as fishermen, but the closed-off river makes it easier for fish to catch diseases and now (villagers) can't fish properly."

The meeting was to commemorate International Anti-Dam Day, a relatively new event on the environmental calendar.

Dinar said villagers from Jatigede would suffer the same fate with Kedungombo victims should the government fail to stop the project.

The Jatigede dam, whose planning began in 1964, would be built on the Cimanuk River, which passes through Sumedang and Indramayu regencies in West Java, and irrigate around 130,000 hectares of rice fields.

The Rp 2.2 trillion (US$237 million) project would submerge five districts and 39 villages along with 2,000 hectares of rice fields and 1,200 hectares of protected forests.

According to Walhi, the range of irrigation is overestimated and the submerging would contribute to climate change as organic materials under the dam waters would rot and release methane and carbon dioxide into the air.

But Jatigede villagers weren't quick to support Walhi.

One of the village representatives, Udju, 66, said the villagers did not mind being relocated, provided they were given appropriate compensation.

"Some of us were promised prices applicable in the 1980s, but the government hasn't paid us and it has been almost 30 years. It's only fair if they replace our land with relative prices," he said.

Another villager, 36-year-old Wawan, said the government should also consider nonmaterial compensation.

"When it comes to education, we are all left behind here," he said, adding that it was hard for him to study because there were no schools nearby and electricity had only been introduced to the area in 2003.

The Jatigede dam has been stalled due to a number of uncertainties. Past governors passed bylaws restricting the building of schools or the planting of produce that has long-term benefits because once the dam is finished, its surrounding areas will be flooded.

The delays were due to a lack of funds but the government already signed a memorandum of understanding with China, who will finance the construction.

Dinar regretted the villagers' decision, but said he understood it.

"It shows how years of oppression can clamp people's spirits," he said.

Walhi plans to continue criticizing the Jatigede dam construction with or without the villagers' help, he said. (anw)

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