The price of clean air<\/p>\n
After years of much talk and effectively no action at all,
\nJakarta's administrators seem at long last to have arrived at the
\nrealization that the problem of pollution in the Indonesian
\ncapital has reached the point where any further delay of action
\nis no longer possible.<\/p>\n
The grim statistics the authorities have released to back
\ntheir argument for drastic action have only served to strengthen
\nthe public's impression of indecisiveness -- not to say
\nincompetence -- on the part of the city administration in dealing
\nwith the problem of pollution that has for decades plagued this
\ncity of more than 10 million.<\/p>\n
Be that as it may, the indisputable fact remains that for
\nJakarta's citizenry the time of reckoning has arrived. As of
\nJanuary this year, no fewer than 4.5 million motorized vehicles
\nplied the city's roads. About 4.4 million of them, or 98 percent,
\nwere privately owned motor vehicles, comprising some 1.5 million
\ncars and three million motorbikes. Over the past six years, the
\nnumber of motorized vehicles on the roads has been growing at a
\nrate of between 7 percent and 11 percent annually, giving rise to
\nthe projection that by 2014 all of the main roads in the city
\nwill be congested around the clock with emission-belching
\nvehicles.<\/p>\n
Although relatively small in number, the 600,000 two-stroke
\nmotorbikes in Jakarta are major offenders in terms of air
\npollution, one such vehicle emitting about the same amount of
\nexhaust gas as 20 reasonably maintained cars.<\/p>\n
Little wonder Jakarta is ranked among the worst cities in the
\nworld -- third after Mexico City and Bangkok -- in terms of air
\npollution. During the whole of 2004, the city had only 51
\nenvironmentally \"clean\" days, the remaining 314 days being
\nclassified either as \"reasonable\" or \"bad\".<\/p>\n
The city's motor vehicles release 43,171 tons of nitrogen
\ndioxide into the air annually, as well as 33,876 tons of
\nhydrocarbons, 706,123 tons of carbon monoxide and 11,771 tons of
\ncarbon dioxide. And the situation continues to grow worse by the
\nyear.<\/p>\n
In light of all this, no one will dispute the soundness of the
\nargument that the Jakarta City Council put forward late last
\nmonth that the number of motor vehicles in the city must be kept
\nin check. The City Council initially proposed to achieve this not
\nonly by making regular emission checks compulsory, but by banning
\nfrom the streets all public transportation vehicles older than 10
\nyears and private cars older than 15 years.<\/p>\n
Obviously, it is difficult to see how such a plan could be
\nrealized without causing social disruption in a city where the
\noverwhelming majority of the population is poor and a great
\nnumber of motor vehicles, whether public or private, are old
\nand decrepit. The sensible solution was to scrap the age limit on
\ncars, but retain the compulsory emission test requirement. If or
\nwhen the proposal is passed into law, Jakartans will be fined a
\nhefty Rp 50,000,000 if they neglect to have their cars tested
\nonce every six months.<\/p>\n
It could be argued that the same heavy penalties, or even
\nheavier, should also be given to polluting industries, which are
\nestimated to account for some 30 percent of the air pollution in
\nJakarta. Jakartans will no doubt be closely watching whether the
\nauthorities make good on their promise eventually to extend the
\npollution ban to include the industrial sector.<\/p>\n
As for smokers, the bad news is that a Rp 50,000,000 penalty
\nwill await them if they light up in public places where smoking
\nwill be prohibited.<\/p>\n
There can be no denying that the new regulations will
\ninconvenience certain parts of the community. However, that is
\nthe price Jakarta's citizenry must pay if the Indonesian capital
\nis to escape the lot of becoming an unlivable city by 2014. The
\nimportant point that must be made here is not that limitations,
\nin whatever form, are unacceptable, but how to make sure that the
\nburden of keeping the city viable as a functioning urban center
\nis spread out as evenly and equitably as possible across the
\nentire community.<\/p>\n
Our only hope is that this well-intentioned plan is given the
\nchance to fulfill its objectives and that Jakarta is spared the
\nfate that doomsayers have predicted for the city and its
\npopulace.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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