It was Found 55 Landslide Points in Two Upstream Villages of Ciliwung River Basin

Center for Asssessment, Planning and Regional Development, Institute for Research and Community Service, Bogor Agricultural University (P4W of LPPM of IPB) in collaboration with Forest Watch Indonesia, Kaum Telapak,  CFES (Community Forest Ecosystem Services) held the activity of the Ecosystem Restoration Expo Program in the Upper Ciliwung River Basin. The event which was held in Agrowisata Gunung Mas, Cisarua Subdistrict, Bogor District, aimed to describe the state of the region and the efforts undertaken to restore the ecological condition of the Upstreaam of Ciliwung River Basin to the general public, the policy makers, and the mass media.

Putri Cantika as the Chief Executive of the activities delivered, the disaster that often occured both in the upstream and the downstream of Ciliwung showed that the area of Ciliwung River Basin had been damaged due to its declining carrying capacity.

“From year to year, there is always news about flooding in the downstream area of Ciliwung, Jakarta, and the upstream. Many landslides events are in Puncak area, the friends in the field find a lot of cracks that are potential of the landslides. The problems related to Puncak and Upstream of Ciliwung River Basin are the multidimensional problems, requiring the joint solutions involving various parties and stakeholders,” she said.

The same thing was also revealed by Dr.Ir. Ernan Rustiadi, M.Agr., the Head of P4W of LPPM of IPB who was also the Chairman of the Consortium for Rescue of Puncak Area or called "Konsorsium Save Puncak / Save Puncak Consortium" or "Konsorsium Puncak / Puncak Consortium".  “As a result of the excessive carrying capacity of the environment, the area of Puncak each year continues to experience the landslide event. For the year of 2018, up to 5 February 2018, Puncak Consortium Team has at least recorded that 55 landslide points in two villages in Puncak area. The two villages in Upstream of Ciliwung River Basin are Tugu Utara Village and Tugu Selatan Village,” said Dr. Ernan.

The overriding causes of the carrying capacity of Puncak environment were the utilization of space including the settlement activities and the villas, the vegetable gardens and other activities that were incompatible with the land capacity. The possibility of landslide was very high in the rainy season, especially in the event of extreme weather events in the area. “The Consortium of Puncak promotes the support for the farmers who use the forest areas to switch from the seasonal crops such as the vegetables and non-environmentally-friendly activities to shifting to the coffee cultivation and the environmentally friendly activities,” explained Dr. Ernan. The coffee cultivation and processing into the premium coffee, continued Dr. Ernan, in addition to being more environmentally friendly, provided the significant economic benefits to the local farmers.

According to Dr. Ernan, Puncak area was part of the area of "Cagar Biosfer Cibodas" as ratified by the government of RI and the  United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1977. This area was promoted as the area which was maintained the balance between the humans and their ecosystems due to the rich diversity of their ecosystems. Present various stakeholders such as Bogor District Government, the village head, the Ministry of Forestry and Environment as well as the private parties and the community groups in this program. This activity was followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding and agreement for the upstream recovery of Ciliwung River Basin by various parties including the representatives of Bogor District, the Perum Perhutani of KPH Bogor, the National Park of Gunung Gede Pangrango, the Center for River Basin Management and Protection Forest (BPDASHL) of Citarum Ciliwung, PT. Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) VIII of Gunung Mas, PT. Sumber Sari Bumi Pakuan, the Village Head of Tugu Utara and the Village Head of Tugu Selatan, and the Representative Consortium for the Rescue of Puncak Area. (IRM/ris)