House To Continue Overseeing Reclamation Projects

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Commission IV of the House of Representatives will continue to monitor issues related to reclamation projects in several areas, including in Bali's Benoa Bay, in an attempt to find a comprehensive solution.

"We will continue to oversee the problem in a bid to find a way out comprehensively and appropriately," Chairman of Commission IV of the House of Representatives Edhy Prabowo stated in a press release received here on Thursday evening.

Commission IV of the House of Representatives received a delegation of traditional leaders from 39 indigenous villages in Bali.

They stated that reclamation in Benoa Bay had damaged the environment and the local socio-cultural system.

Moreover, the leaders emphasized that Benoa Bay was a sacred area that must be maintained and preserved.

Benoa Bay had various sacred places, as the beach served as a venue for religious rituals, such as melasti, a Hindu ceremony to spiritually cleanse the soul and nature. The bay also had several temples.

He revealed that Commission IV will invite all stakeholders to discuss the problem jointly as part of the efforts to resolve the issue soon.

Greenpeace Indonesia had earlier expressed concern over the development work in Indonesia's coastal areas, which tends to be misdirected, for instance, by implementing reclamation projects.

The development of coastal areas tends to harm its environment; religious, customary, and social functions; and the sustainability of the traditional fishermen's livelihood, the environmental NGO said in a press statement here.

It cited the reclamation projects in Benoa Bay in Bali and Jakarta Bay as two bad examples of coastal region development, which are not sustainable and are only in keeping with the interests of private developers.

Greenpeace is also concerned that several activists and local residents who were against Benoa Bay reclamation were intimidated and nearly criminalized.

Greenpeace Indonesia has urged President Joko Widodo to revoke Presidential Regulation No. 51 of 2015 on the Benoa Bay reclamation and privatization.

It also urged the president to issue a policy to completely stop the Jakarta Bay reclamation projects and to restore the ecological functions of the Jakarta Bay coastal area and waters without the reclamation approach. (WDY)