Yuli Krisna, Bandung – West Java has been seen as key to solving Jakarta's annual flooding problems, with experts calling for more cooperation between the neighboring provinces.

But West Java governor AhmadHeryawan pointed the finger at Jakartans as the cause of their own problems, and called upon his neighbors to take responsibility for solving problems they themselves have caused.

Ahmad said he supports Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo's plan to restore the Puncak area, a popular weekend destination for Jakarta residents, to its original function as a watershed, in an effort to prevent downstream flooding in Jakarta.

However, he noted that cracking down on illegal properties would be difficult, given that most of them were owned by wealthy or influential Jakarta residents and officials.

"The ones building the villas [in Puncak] are Jakartans," Ahmad told the Jakarta Globe in his first exclusive interview since being re-elected for a second term.

"I think everyone must make sacrifices. Everyone should abide by the law. Each time there is a crackdown [on illegal weekend homes] the Bogor district government is met with resistance by owners who are said to be wealthy and well-connectedpeople," he said.

Ahmad added that villa owners have hired locals to protest against the crackdown and demolition of illegal weekend homes.

Streams winding through Puncak collect to form the Ciliwung River, the main waterway that passes through Jakarta. It is also responsible for most of the flooding that paralyzed the capital in mid-January.

But Puncak has seen its watershed area reduced considerably as a result of deforestation and the illegal construction of private homes.

The area originally drained by the river and its tributaries is around 29,186 hectares, according to Forest Watch Indonesia, an environmental group.

However, the amount of that area still covered by forest is just 3,565 hectares, or 12 percent of what it should be. The rest of the river's watershed has been deforested or developed on, thereby severely diminishing its capacity to absorb rainwater.

The Public Works Ministry has said that the problem lies with the local planning authorities' failure to ensure each new development's compliance with a minimum required proportion of open green space.

The ministry said a re-evaluation of zoning bylaws in the Puncak and Cianjur highland areas, which are the sources of the capital's main rivers, is necessary.