Act against Puncak Land Deals

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Buying and selling land is increasingly prevalent in Kuta Village, Cisarua, Bogor Regency, West Java, on Monday (1/2/2021).

The purchase of state-owned leasehold property (HGU) land for the purpose of plantation development and expansion has been rampant in the Puncak area of Bogor regency. Meanwhile, the local ecology has been degrading.

An investigative report by the Kompas daily, which was published last week, has found that HGUs are being traded and converted easily and freely into state-owned plantations. Local residents, village officials and prominent Jakarta officials are involved.

The situation is certainly very worrying, even dangerous. Land cover in the upstream water catchment area of the Ciliwung River is shrinking. Green spaces are rapidly being replaced by permanent structures.

Also read: State-owned Land in Puncak for Free Transactions

A visual analysis of satellite imagery conducted by Kompas Research and Development (R&D) also show the massive extent of the land conversion occurring in the districts of Megamendung and Cisarua. In 2012-2020, around 170 hectares of land in the areas were converted, an increase of about 10 percent.

The Citarum Ciliwung Watershed-Protected Forest Management Agency said its maps showed that almost half the land in the area belonged to the “very critical” category.

If these land transactions are not dealt with immediately, the popular travel destination of Puncak will turn into an area prone to disaster hazards. The Citarum Ciliwung Watershed-Protected Forest Management Agency said its maps showed that almost half the land in the area belonged to the “very critical” category. The area has hardly any preserved lands left.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

The situation of settlements and agricultural land in Kuta Village, Cisarua, Bogor Regency, West Java, Monday (1/2/2021).

According to 1987 data, the water absorption capacity of the soil in Puncak is just 17.8 percent, whereas this should not be below 40 percent. Meanwhile, the erosion rate has reached the very high level of 480 tons per hectare per year. This condition has led to the frequent occurrence of landslides and flash floods in the last four years. The Bogor Regency Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPD) recorded 97 landslides in Megamendung and 54 landslides in Cisarua in 2016-2020. This is a fourfold increase compared to the 2011-2015 period.

Also read: Prepare Mitigation in Puncak

These facts confirm that it is not the time to say it is too late for economic development to be inevitably aligned with an ecological approach in the Puncak area. According to Kompas news archives, this issue was raised 40 years ago on June 21, 1980. However, in practice, ecological interests have often been ignored, even sacrificed, for economic interests.

Also read: Elegy for early 2021: Upstream Landslides, Downstream Flooding

In reality, the losses incurred due to the impact of disasters in Puncak have been much greater than the tourism revenue to date. The estimated losses of natural disasters in Cisarua and Megamendung districts reached Rp 500 billion in 2018. Meanwhile, areas were only Rp 174.5 billion has been collected in hotel and entertainment tax from Megamendung and Cisarua.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

One of the state lands is used for private activities and community organization groups in Kuta Village, Cisarua District, Bogor Regency, West Java, Monday (1/2/2021)

This is not to mention the severe impact on farmers, who are increasingly losing access to land. In addition to the need for hydrological engineering to completely restore the local environment, it is imperative to take action against all parties involved in environmental degradation in various forms to stop the damage.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).