Yogyakarta's Beach Club Project: Coalition Urges Investors to Scrap Construction Plan as Famous Celebrity Withdraws
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14 June 2024 10:46 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Gunungkidul Melawan (Gunungkidul Resists) Coalition welcomes Indonesia’s well-known celebrity Raffi Ahmad's plan to withdraw from the resort, villa, and beach club project in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta. They also urged other investors to scrap their plans to develop beach clubs in the Gunungkidul and Gunung Sewu karst landscape areas.
The coalition comprised various organizations such as WALHI Yogyakarta, the youths of Gunungkidul Melawan community, Climate Rangers Jogja, LBH Yogyakarta, WeSpeakUp.org, and 350.org.
Deputy Director of WALHI Yogyakarta, Dimas R. Perdana, said that the project is not guaranteed to stop even with Raffi Ahmad’s withdrawal. "We hope that Raffi can use his influence to persuade other investors to call off this potentially environmentally damaging project," he said on Thursday, June 13, 2024.
The Gunungkidul Melawan Coalition also urged the Regent of Gunungkidul to refuse permits for the beach club project. The project, set to be built on a protected area, could negatively impact the water capacity for the drought-risked locals.
Raffi Ahmad previously announced the ‘Bekizart’ project on his Instagram on December 16, 2023. The project is widely discussed and a change.org petition to reject the development dated March 21 has been signed by 62,000 people.
On Tuesday, Raffi released a video statement on Instagram stating "I hereby declare that I will withdraw from my involvement in this project."
WALHI Yogyakarta's initial study found alleged breaches of the Yogyakarta Regional Spatial Planning (RTRW) by the developer. Based on the spatial patterns and structures study, the Bekizart project is located in an agricultural area, not tourism.
The study also shows that the resort development plan will disregard Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 17 of 2012 concerning karst area (KBAK) which states that KBAK is protected so prospective uses of the zone must not be harmful to the area.
A researcher from Climate Rangers Jogja, Langit Gemintang, said the project’s construction will not only worsen the drought problem in Gunungkidul but has the potential to damage the karst hills. "What the Gunungkidul residents need is not a resort or beach club but clean water," he said.
He said the widespread rejection of the beach club project is proof of collective strength and solidarity in the struggle for climate justice.
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