T

he city of Wonosobo in Central Java is launching measures aimed at improving quality of life for residents.

Part of this work includes greening the city.

'Becoming a green city is part of our effort to make Wonosobo a human-rights city. The concept includes defending pluralism and implementing model urban development that is friendly toward the disabled, women, children and the elderly,' said Wonosobo Regent Abdul Kholiq Arif, during the recent kickoff of the Wonosobo Green City event.

Wonosobo regency is known as a place where religious minorities, such as Ahmadiyah Muslims, can live in peace. The 46-year-old Kholiq, a former journalist with the Jawa Pos daily, is a politician with the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Tempo magazine selected Kholiq in 2012 as one of the seven best regents and mayors in the country for his role in greening Wonosobo and handling conflicts among residents.

He said that his office was further refining the academic concept of what makes a human rights city. Kholiq expressed hope that legislation in the form of a local bylaw on becoming a human rights city could be passed by 2015 to help strengthen living standards and harmony among residents and the environment.

'This is a form of goodwill on the part of the government to the community. We must live in a civilized environment. We will ensure political, economic, health and education rights for the people,' said Kholiq.

He went on to say that Wonosobo citizens were known as having short tempers and a predilection for violence ' characteristics he blamed on a damaged urban environment.

'If the city is clean, beautiful and green, people will be relaxed and well-mannered,' he said.

To improve the livability of Wonosobo, the city administration aims to create 60 hectares of open green space within the city limits. 'Only 14 percent has yet to be realized,' said Kholiq.

To become a green city, the administration is building cooperation among public and private stakeholders through a group called Green Partnership.

Additionally, the Wonosobo regency administration is aiming to reforest 40,000 hectares on the Dieng plateau and on the slopes of Mount Sindoro and Sumbing, denuded by damaging farming practices.

'Currently, a total of 7,800 hectares of land has yet to be reforested,' said Kholiq.

He added that Wonosobo, located in the middle of Central Java, was an environmentally sensitive area as it was a catchment zone for several rivers in the province.

'Should Wonosobo face environmental damage, other regencies in the province, such as Banjarnegara, Pekalongan, Purworejo, Cilacap, Kendal, Batang, Temanggung, Purbalingga and Kebumen, will be prone to flooding,' he said.

Meanwhile, the Public Works Ministry Green City Program associate team leader Bayu Wardana said 107 cities in Indonesia were currently aiming to become green cities.

A major corporate stakeholder in the Green Partnership for Wonosobo is PT Tirta Investama, producer of Aqua bottled water.

'In line with our vision to provide health care to the community, the Tirta Investama Wonosobo plant has been helping the regency administration build a community-based communal sanitation system since 2011,' said company secretary Parmaningsih Hadinegoro.

He added that in 2013 his company built a communal sanitation system in Kejiwan subdistrict and the water catchment area in Bumirejo village. The company has also supported a garbage collection community development program in Kalibener village and provided organic farming training in Bumirejo village.