Minister urges Jakarta administration to control population

With Jakarta named as the most vulnerable city in the Southeast Asia countries, State Minister for Environment Rachmat Witoelar called on the city administration to control the influx of population into the capital.

A study by Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) revealed on Thursday that Jakarta was the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change compared to 530 cities across the region due to its high population density.

“This is a serious warning on impact of the climate change in Jakarta, the administration should pay attention on the report to minimize risk,” Rachmat told reporters.

“I don’t know what should be done to overcome population problems, but like or dislike, there must be stern regulation to limit new comers into the city.”

He said that Jakarta was only designed to accommodate for about one million people.

“But the numbers is now up to between seven million to nine million, It is really overcrowded and the environment is the first victim of such large population,” he said.

The study used data on spatial distribution of various-related hazards in 530 sub-national areas in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Based on the mapping assessment, the study said all the regions of the Philippines, the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam, almost all regions of Cambodia; North and East Laos, the Bangkok region of Thailand and West Sumatera, South Sumatra, West Java and East Java are also among the most vulnerable regions in Southeast Asia.

"But in overall assessment, the districts of Jakarta in Indonesia come out as the top most vulnarable regions in Southeast Asia," expert from EEPSEA, Arief Anshory Yusuf said.