T

he city administration has proposed utilizing city forests not only as an open green spaces, but also as places for airsoft gun game arenas. Airsoft gun games are similar to paint-ball games.

Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said Monday that the idea would potentially draw more tourists to visit the city forests located in the heart of Jakarta. '€œThis could be a new attraction. Airsoft gun arenas in the center of the city,'€ he said as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

Ahok said he had ordered the Marine, Agriculture and Food Security Agency to draft a plan. Ahok emphasized that handing over the project to the private sector would be challenging and that the project would be costly.

He added that the airsoft gun game idea would also make way for street vendors to open their businesses in the city forests.

'€œWe can organize the street vendors and make them pay rent to us. We have to utilize the city forests so that they can be a playground for the residents,'€ Ahok continued.

Jakarta has 14 city forests as regulated in gubernatorial decrees with a total area of 149.18 hectares, a low figure when compared to the city'€™s 66,100 hectares. Altogether, the city forests account for just 0.23 percent of the city'€™s total area. The ideal proportion of city forests, according to Law No. 63/2002 on City Forests, is 10 percent.

Based on official information from the city administration, Jakarta'€™s largest city forest is University of Indonesia'€™s City Forest, also known as the Green Crown, located in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta. The forest has a total area of 55.4 hectares and is currently managed by the university.

Besides city forests, the city administration has also opened integrated child-friendly public space areas (RPTRAs), which serve as community centers for residents and accommodate activities like math and English study groups and traditional dance practice.

In September 2015, Ahok said the city administration issued a gubernatorial decree to limit resident management of RPTRAs due to differing interests among residents.

'€œIn many areas, we observed that a number of organizations became involved and this caused friction and tension between residents,'€ Ahok said.

However, with a lack of programs or organized activities by the city administration, some city forests, or other green spaces, failed to attract visitors.

Many parks in the city held activities organized by local communities, not by the city or park managements. Park managements charge residents money to borrow the place to hold activities. Most of the parks also prohibit street vendors from opening businesses. Green strips along the East Flood Canal, however, have many street vendors that receive many customers.