AHY: Peak And Bogor Spatial Errors Affect Water Absorption, As A Result Of Floods In Downstream

Coordinating Minister for Regional Infrastructure and Development (IPK) Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) (intermediate)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Regional Infrastructure and Development (IPK) Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) said that errors in the use of spatial planning in upstream areas, such as Bogor and Puncak, were one of the causes of flooding in downstream areas, such as Jabodetabek.

This was conveyed by AHY at the Green Initiative Conference (GIC) at the Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta, Thursday, September 18.

"What happened, the error in the use of spatial planning in Bogor, Puncak, for example, could affect water absorption," said AHY.

AHY explained that changes in the function of land and spatial planning are not appropriate in the Puncak area resulting in reduced ground capacity to absorb rainwater. As a result, the volume of water flowing into the rivers below has increased dramatically.

"Finally it hit, overflowed, which became a victim of the downstream community. The last example is Jabodetabek, Bekasi," he said.

The chairman of the Democratic Party emphasized that flood management solutions must be carried out in an integrated manner from upstream to downstream. According to him, river normalization efforts in the downstream region are as important as improving spatial planning in the upstream area.

"So, river normalization is as important as building coastal embankments and sea embankments," he said.

In addition to the problem of flooding due to spatial planning, AHY also highlighted other serious threats such as land subsidence and sea level rise that threaten tens of millions of people in the North Coast of Java.

He also reminded Indonesia as an archipelagic country, including the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Thus, serious and basic handling must be carried out immediately to prevent future disasters.

"We have to do something more basic, for example with infrastructure getting more resilient, more resilient to the dangers of natural disasters," explained AHY.