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All Indonesian reclamation plans need review, eco group says
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An aerial view shows the reclamation of islets C and D in Jakarta Bay, on the Northern Jakarta coast. (The Jakarta Post/Rendi A. Witular)
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nvironmental group Green Institute Indonesia has called on the government to review other reclamation plans outside Jakarta to follow the Jakarta administration’s suit in revoking reclamation projects in the capital on the back of developers' failure to obtain required permits.
One of the concerned projects is the Tanjung Benoa reclamation project in Bali, where its developer PT Tirta Wahana Bali has reportedly been unable to extend the project’s location permit. The location permit, one among other permits required for reclamation work, expired on Aug. 25.
“Many [environment activists] welcome the expiration," the Green Institute said in a statement on Friday.
Development has hit several snags in the past two years amid opposition from local residents citing damages the project might cause to the environment.
Read also: Anies revokes reclamation project permits
The institute said 20 reclamation projects needed to be reviewed besides the Jakarta and Bali reclamation projects, including those in Ria Kenjeran Beach in Surabaya, East Java; Losari Beach in Makassar, South Sulawesi; and Talise Beach in Palu, Central Sulawesi.
Meanwhile, Bogor Agriculture Institute oceanographer Alan F. Koropitan said the construction of man-made islets would bring negative impacts on the coastal environment. Coastal areas across the country, he further said, consist of estuaries and mangrove forests as the breeding ground for fish.
“The landscape changes, as a result of the reclamation project, will cost us a lot. It will affect our fisheries stocks, and the rehabilitation costs will be much bigger [than the reclamation costs],” Alan said in a video made available by the institute. (dmr)
