Muh. Syaifullah, Yogyakarta – The discovery of a cave with stalactites and stalagmites raises questions about the preliminary research for the licensing process of the South Cross-Country Road (JJLS) construction in Gunungkidul. The cave was found underground in Planjan Village, Saptosari, on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, which has currently forced the project to be temporarily halted.
According to the Wahana Lingkungan Hidup (The Indonesian Forum for Living Environment), or Walhi, of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), the licensing and environmental impact analysis or EIA of the JJLS project is believed to have been done suboptimally. They urge a reevaluation of the road construction project because Gunungkidul Regency is a karst mountain and ancient mountain area suspected to have many caves, even underground rivers.
"In the construction process of JJLS, attention should be paid if there are areas or cave findings with an ecological system, the purpose of which should be returned to the karst ecosystem itself," said Deputy Director of Walhi DIY, Dimas R. Perdana, on Monday, October 21, 2024.
Dimas added that the road construction project in that location must be stopped and rerouted. The project remains halted until a comprehensive and thorough analysis is completed to prevent any damage to the karst rock ecosystem in Gunungkidul.
The location of the resort and beach club construction project in the karst natural expanse of Gunungkidul and Gunung Sewu, on Friday, June 14, 2024. This project was revealed by Raffi Ahmad on social media.
So far, the discovery of underground caves has gone viral on social media, attracting many visitors. Tourism potential has emerged. However, Walhi warns that before the location is turned into a tourist spot, further evaluation is needed to prevent damage caused by improper actions towards the cave.
"Let's not have tourism become a threat that damages the karst ecosystem itself," said Dimas.
Underground cave discovered in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, after a road construction project. PHOTO/Dok. UGM
First daughter of Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX, Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Mangkubumi, also suggested that the project should be halted first. She urged the public to also preserve the existence of the underground cave.
"Let's together preserve it, make sure that this cave location or whatever is inside the cave remains intact," said Mangkubumi, who visited the cave on Sunday, October 20, 2024.