Bandarlampung’s water catchment areas damaged

The water crisis afflicting Bandarlampung, Lampung, for the past month can be attributed to environmental damage, especially to catchment areas located in dozens of nearby conservation hills, many of which have vanished or been converted into upscale housing complexes and star-rated hotels.

“Bandarlampung residents feel the impact, especially during a drought, like now. Efforts have never been made to restore the hills. Instead excavation is being carried out every day. The Bandarlampung municipality has even issued permits to excavate the hills from which materials are used to reclaim the Lampung Bay coast,” Hendrawan, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment’s (Walhi) Lampung chapter, said on Monday.

According to Hendrawan, Bandarlampung residents were currently facing a severe water crisis and that the hills of Bandarlampung would likely vanish in the next five years.

“Eleven of the 32 hills are part of urban forests and catchment areas of the city. Now, city residents can still be saved by catchment areas in the Wan Abdurrahman community forest on the border between Bandarlampung and South Lampung regency,” he said.

According to Walhi, only three of the 33 hills in Bandarlampung remained green and intact: Bukit Sulah, Bukit Kucing and Bukit Kera (Bukit Banten).

Meanwhile, 13 of the conservation hills have changed function: some have become stone quarries, Bukit Randu has been turned into a star-rated hotel and Bukit Camang and Bukit Rasuna Said have been converted into upscale housing developments. Fourteen other hills have been converted into residential areas.

“Rocks from Bukit Camang are being used to reclaim the Lampung Bay coast for the Waterfront City project, while the hill which has now been leveled has been turned into an elite housing complex,” Hendrawan said.

The destruction of Bukit Camang was carried out over the past eight months after Bandarlampung municipality issued a permit to reclaim the coast with rocks from Bukit Camang, he said.

Despite protests from activists and residents, the excavation and reclamation projects continued.

Mitra Bentala’s environmental group director Herza Yulianto said that permission to excavate the hills in Bandarlampung was given under a local ordinance authorizing rock and sand quarrying.

“Revenue from hill quarrying only contributes less than Rp 50 million [about US$5,800] annually. Incumbent Bandarlampung Mayor Herman HN has banned hill quarrying, but residents have continued to excavate,” Herza said.

Due to the loss of the hills, Bandarlampung residents have faced several water shortages during the dry season over the past five years, while suffering from floods during the rainy season.

Herman said he was drafting a bylaw to save the available hills.

“We have also issued a ban on hill quarrying. We are currently studying the permits issued for hills that have been turned into housing complexes and hotels,” he said.

“We are seriously resolving the water crisis. We are committed to restoring the city’s lungs and conservation areas according to their functions,” he added.