D

epok, West Java, has lost 10 natural and man-made lakes as a result of aggressive property development in the city, according to historian JJ Rizal.“Depok used to have 31 situ or lakes. Now, there are only 21 left, and 80 percent of them aren’t being looked after,” Rizal said as quoted by tempo.co.

The current situation is contrary to how Depok used to be during the Dutch colonial era, when Cornelis Chastelein developed the then unnamed land as a center of farming and plantation, he said.

Rizal added that Chastelein left behind hundreds of hectares of city forest located in Pancoran Mas district in Depok. The forest was then established as the world’s first and largest nature conservation area. However, today there are only 7 hectares left.

The vice chairman of Depok Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) Commission A, Hamzah, said only 11.49 percent of Depok comprised green areas (RTH), far below the 30 percent required by the Spatial Planning Law. However, Hamzah was optimistic that Depok could recover from the situation. “In the 2016-2021 mid-term regional development plan, Depok has committed to achieving the RTH target by building more parks and town squares,” he said.