Jakarta Tightens Tree Protection and Targets Planting of 200,000 in 2022

To coincide with the commemoration of Earth Day, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan issued Gubernatorial Regulation number 24/2021 on Tree Management and Protection. The day is in line with the Jakarta administration's commitment to tackle the impacts of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in 2030.

The community is given space to participate in tree management and protection

Jakarta Parks and Urban Forest Agency Head, Suzi Marsitawati revealed, the trees in Jakarta were a natural solution in mitigating and adapting to climate change, through absorption of emissions, reducing temperatures, providing habitat for biodiversity, and creating a livable environment for residents, as well as many other benefits. Since 2019, the city had targeted an additional 200,000 trees. Until now, a total of 70,880 trees had been planted, consisting of 23,584 trees and 47,296 mangroves.

"With this policy, we will achieve the target in 2022. It is also in line with what was conveyed by the Governor at the C40 online meeting in front of the PBB Secretary General Antonio Gutteres, who suggested that cities can contribute more to reducing emissions and take steps to adapt to the climate crisis," she expressed, in the virtual conference press, on Thursday (4/22).

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She explained the regulation itself had passed through careful planning and drawn up with a collaborative scheme with the World Resource Institute (WRI) Indonesia. In its execution, she opened collaboration and input from Jakartans and civil society organizations. She hoped, the community could experience direct benefits from the enactment of this regulation.

"The community is given space to participate in tree management and protection, such as providing planting locations, providing trees, tree maintenance, tree data collection, providing information related to tree conditions prone to falling, education and research. The regulation also gives facilities that involve community participation in resolving trees prone to falling and fallen trees," he explained.

Then through the compilation of a tree database based on a spatial information system, they would also get certainty regarding the existence and the benefits of trees, provide legal certainty for tree management and protection in Jakarta, clarify the implementation of tree permits, provide guarantees for fallen tree victims, and provide certainty of illegal logging violations.

She added it would also provide more protection against felling trees. "Through the new scheme, there are strict conditions for trees that can be cut down, such as old or sick trees, and logging can only be done if a larger number of replacement trees have been planted and are in healthy condition," she explained.

WRI Indonesia Director NirartaSmadhi revealed that her support for this adaptation measure to deal with climate change.

"We're very pleased that Jakarta is taking tree planting seriously as an adaptation measure to face the climate crisis. The use of tree databases will greatly assist tree management and management activities as a very important ecological asset in facing the climate crisis. Aside that, there will be a spatial-based information system that can monitor conditions, thus further steps can be decided to overcome certain conditions," she explained.

In the future, the administration would also encourage the community to support the policy in order to create the Jakarta city greener and friendlier for its residents. Kota Kita (Our City) Director, Ahmad Rifai considered the city steps were right, as the paradigm that sees the city as a unity between humans, nature and the built environment was very important to overcome the effects of the climate crisis.

"The continuity between the three components in the city can be seen from the role of trees, which have an ecological function in terms of handling pollution and biodiversity habitat, as well as social functions as a green space for human interaction. On this basis, efforts to manage and protect trees are an important step and the community must be actively involved in tree protection efforts with the government," he uttered.

Previously, the Governor had also issued Governor's Instruction number 17/2021 on Climate Disaster Impact Control. It contains 6 climate change mitigation actions:

1. Reducing carbon emissions in the construction sector: the application of green buildings and the efficient use of energy in buildings

2. Using energy-efficient lamps on arterial roads, residential roads and the use of PV mini-grids

3. Reducing carbon emissions from mobile sources: shifting to public and low-emission modes of transportation

4. Reducing carbon emissions from the liquid and solid waste treatment sector: reducing the production of waste from its source

5. Reducing carbon emissions: providing green open space and planting plants that can absorb carbon emissions more optimally

6. Reducing carbon emissions from immovable sources or the industrial sector: examines the application of the use of eco-friendlier fuels

Then five actions for climate change adaptation and climate disaster risk reduction in Jakarta:

1. Action and education on climate change disaster response

2. Optimizing the utilization and harvesting of rainwater and integrated flood management

3. Strengthening the food security system

4. Protecting coastal areas and Thousand Islands

5. “Social protection” for vulnerable people through capacity building, encouraging MSMEs, improving health services and providing easy access to public facilities