"Green and open spaces are not yet a priority for the Indonesian administration," an urban park expert Nirwono Joga said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Of the 350 parks in Jakarta, only 10-15 are worth a visit, according to urban park expert Nirwono Joga.
"Most of the capital city`s parks are not well maintained because the city administration`s budget allocation for park maintenance is very small, about 1/20th in comparison to that of Singapore," he said at a conference, themed "Green City for a Better Life", here on Wednesday.
"Green and open spaces are not yet a priority for the Indonesian administration," Nirwono stated.
"Over the past decade, the expansion of green and open spaces in Jakarta was only 1 percent," he noted.
Green and open spaces in Jakarta, Nirwono added, comprise public as well as private property.
"The expansion target for public green and open spaces has been set at 20 percent for 2013, while for private it is 10 percent," he said.
"Private green and open spaces are not accessible 24 hours a day because the assets belong to institutions or individuals, such as offices` front yards or private gardens," Nirwono explained.
"Besides, there are also non-green open spaces such as dams, rivers, lakes, beaches and parking areas," he pointed out.
"Based on some data that we have collected, Banda Aceh, Medan, Bukit Tinggi, Pariaman, Sawahlunto, Batam, and Tanjung Pinang have green and open spaces covering up to 8.3 percent of their total area," Nirwono said.
In Pagar Alam, Bandar Lampung, Metro, Bogor, and Salatiga, the figures were 4.6 percent, followed by Semarang, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, and Blitar (17 percent), Malang (7.8 percent), Probolinggo (13.21 percent), Mataram (12 percent), and Gorontalo, Makassar, and Pare-pare (14 percent).
"I hope Indonesian cities become healthier ecologically, socially, and economically," Nirwono stated.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
