LAND JATIGEDE

The dam, which was first planned in 1963, Dadang said, would displace more than 70,000 people, submerge five districts and 30 villages. It would also damage the ecosystem because it would inundate some 1,200 hectares of Perhutani state forest, he said. "We are concerned that the ecosystem would be damaged and that the dam would contribute significantly to the greenhouse effect because, based on research, it would create massive amounts of methane and carbon dioxide gas," Dadang said. Around 3,200 ha of the total 4,892 ha area planned for the dam is arable land, and has the potential to yield 80,000 tons of rice annually, Walhi estimates.

The new West Java governor's plans to revive a number of infrastructure projects were opposed Tuesday by environmentalists who said the foreign loans used would overburden the community. Governor Ahmad Heryawan's plans, including the construction of the Jati Gede dam, are worth some Rp 2.2 trillion (US$244 million) and were devised by his predecessor, Danny Setiawan.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi)'s Bandung chapter spokesman Dadang Sudardja said the forum were seeking support from other non-government organizations to boycott the projects.
"Whoever the governor is, or future elected president will be, we will continue to oppose these projects because they are not worthwhile. They will become an increasing burden for the community who will have to pay off overseas debts," Dadang told The Jakarta Post in Bandung on Monday.
Heryawan, however, reiterated that his administration would go ahead with the projects, which he said would benefit the majority of people in the province.