Jakarta – When a new regulation comes into effect next month, all buildings in the city's protected upland areas must come down.

In order to prevent further environmental damage in protected areas, the government is revising it spatial planning strategies and policies.

The draft of a presidential regulation on spatial planning in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Puncak and Cianjur – collectively known as Jabodetabekpunjur – states that all existing structures in protected areas must be demolished.

"The protected upstream areas must again function as water catchments, while the administrations in downstream areas should be encouraging the construction of multistory buildings to create more open spaces," Bambang Setyabudi, a member of the working committee drafting the regulation, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The regulation, which will replace the 1999 presidential decree on spatial planning in Jabodetabekpunjur, is expected to be effective next month.

Bambang, who is also deputy assistant to the State Minister for the Environment, said the committee was now discussing the status of mangrove swamps in Muara Gembong, Bekasi. There are currently 10,800 hectares of protected forests in Muara Gembong.

"However, most of the areas have been converted for commercial purposes, such as fish farming. The Forestry Ministry then issued a decree to convert 5,170 hectares of the area into productive forests," he said. "But the West Java administration wants the forests to be protected areas."

The committee says it will reach a decision on the issue on Monday, before submitting the final draft to the State Secretariat for presidential approval.

Bambang conceded the success of the regulation depended on the local administrations. "The committee does not have the authority to monitor the implementation of the regulation in the field," he said.

There are currently 34 regulations on the Jakarta, Bogor, Puncak and Cianjur spatial plans. Due to weak law enforcement, environmental problems in the regions continue to get worse. Research conducted by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) concluded each administration interpreted the policies to serve their own interests.

Bambang said sanctions for violators should also be stipulated in the regulation. The regulation includes directives on the integrated transportation and drainage systems in the region.

The governors of Jakarta, Banten and West Java are required to regularly report on the development of land in their areas to Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla has expressed concern about the overdevelopment of upland areas, seen as a major cause of the annual floods in the city. In his recent meeting with the three governors, Kalla urged the administrations to reforest critical areas of Puncak.