Converting Barren Land into Parks: Yogyakarta, Central Java

By Barrie | November 2nd, 2007 | No Comments

Yogyakarta city administration plans to buy barren land plots from their owners and convert them into parks or playgrounds. Yogyakarta Mayor Herry Zudianto said the city would use funds from the city budget to gradually buy all barren land plots in every subdistrict.

“Even if the size of the plots is only 300 or 400 square meters, we will buy and convert them into parks to realize the vision of ‘My Green Yogyakarta‘,” said Herry.

“We’ve been planning this for the last two years,” he added.

He estimated that each of the 150 villages in Yogyakarta would have at least one park and one playground. However he added that the mayoralty could develop only 10 to 15 parks a year due to limited funds.

The mayor also said that to promote the development of the “My Green Yogyakarta” program, which was officially launched over the weekend, the mayoralty and the legislative council were still deliberating an amendment of the bylaw on building permits.

The amendment, expected to be implemented next year, would require residential areas to allocate some portion of land for the development of parks, green spaces and catchment wells.

To motivate residents to make their city green, Herry and dozens of mayoralty officers planted 1,000 seedlings of various plants at road medians and in the yards of schools and places of worship.

“This event is part of a program to plant 30,000 seedlings in cooperation with state-owned forestry company Perum Perhutani,” he said while planting seedlings on Jl. Menteri Supeno.

The 30,000 seedlings will be planted gradually, with completion slated for early 2008.

“I won’t distribute the seedlings and ask residents to plant them but I’ll let those who are eager to participate in the program to ask for some seedlings for their own areas,” he said.

The residents’ awareness of greening will be priceless for the next generation, he said, adding that the program would make Yogyakarta a city inside parks, not a park inside a city.

“This is our dream, and we will make it come true even though it will take a long time.”

Slamet Susanto