Government to adopt sustainable city policies

Evi Mariani , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 04/23/2008 10:37 AM | City

The government is moving toward policies that support sustainable cities in the face of climate change and a growing urban population, a seminar heard Tuesday.

Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said in his keynote speech, read by staff member Bambang Guritno, Indonesia should shift the paradigm of urban development from "problem and incident driven" to a "coherent, holistic and consolidated approach -- sustainability driven".

"A change in policy and strategy of urban development in Indonesia is needed," Bambang said at the opening of the Toward Sustainable Cities in Indonesia seminar, organized by the Foundation for Sustainable Development (YPB).

To have sustainable cities, the government has taken a number of strategic steps, the minister said.

They discussed the provision of green open space; reducing, reusing and recycling waste; solid waste management; water conservation; reuse of industrial cooling water and rainwater self-purification ponds.

Concerning solid waste management, Djoko said the ministry recorded Indonesia producing 22.5 million tons of solid waste per year since 1995. It is estimated the figure will reach 53.5 million tons per year by 2020, assuming the production growth rate remains at 2 to 4 percent per year.

Recently, the government passed a law on waste management promoting reducing, reusing and recycling in treating household garbage.

The call for sustainable urban development has become more urgent considering the growth of urban populations in the country, said a demographic expert from the University of Indonesia, Suahasil.

"In 2005, the country's urban population reached 105.9 million or 48.3 percent of the whole population. In 2025, it is estimated two out of three residents will be urban dwellers, meaning about 60 percent of the population will live in cities," Nazara said.

He said parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan would see the most robust growth, 230 to 320 percent, of urban populations, while Java, already urbanized, would see moderate growth of 10 to 80 percent.

Raymond Kemur, head of spatial control and use at the directorate of Java-Bali spatial planning at the Public Works Ministry, said growth of cities in Java had reduced the island's capability to absorb water.

Based on the simulated Java spatial model, in 2025, the island will lose most of its paddy fields and green areas. Consequently, most of the island will be flooded during the wet season and will not have sufficient clean water resources during the dry season, Raymond said.

"Java will drown," he said.

Executive director of YPB, Darwina S. Widjayanti, said the situation had reached an urgent stage.

"Cities' support systems are limited, while needs are increasing. We have no choice but to act now. Sustainable development has to be the mainstream approach."

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