Saturday, 07 February, 2009 | 07:39 WIB
TEMPO Interactive, Bandung:An integrated tourism area to be developed PT Graha Rani Putra Persada (GRPP) in Mount Tangkuban Parahu, West Java will cause increased damages to the northern part of Bandung. "The forest land will be converted because they plan to build permanent buildings like cottages in conservation areas," said West Java's Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) executive-director, Muhammad Hendarsyah, in Bandung yesterday.
The statement was linked to the license issued by Forestry minister M.S. Kaban to PT GRPP Jakarta on August 2007 to manage 175 hectares of conservation land in Mount Gunung Parahu and 75 hectares of protected forests around it. Earlier, the West Java administration regarded Kaban's decision as a procedural violation because the region had not yet issued its recommendation.
But Minister Kaban assured that the license he signed was in line with procedures. He also denied that the license was given because GRPP Putra Kaban CEO was a close relative. "If there was family connection, we would still issue the license according to procedures. So, don't assume too much," he said.
According to Kaban, the license was intended to improve Tangkuban Parahu national park. "Why is it an issue when the aim is to improve it?" he asked. Putra Kaban, also a lawyer, could not be reached for his comment.
Since the 1980s, the West Java administration has been issuing a variety of regulations to maintain northern Bandung's conservation area. However, Hendarsyah said, the condition of the area kept declining as the green spaces keeps being converted to settlements and commercial areas.
When Tempo visited the site last week, the Jayagiri forest and Mount Tangkuban Parahu areas looked ravaged. Old pine trees had been cut down by villagers to be used as logs and remnants of charred wood were strewn around. A number of areas had even been turned into plantations, reportedly illegal.
Hendarsyah claimed that the license for PT GRPP was an intervention of the central government in local administration business. "We have a clear policy on the North Bandungarea, especially regarding its protected areas. Now the central government wants to interfere in managing tourism there," he said.
Around 79 percent of North Bandung consists of protected forest areas, the rest, from Wanayasa Purwakarta to West Manglayang Barat, Bandung regency are mostly production forests.
"There must buildings in protected forest areas, except for tourism sites, because the area is divided into zones that are protected and those that are allocated for commercial use," he said.
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