Views differ on how to tackle Jakarta's air pollution<\/p>\n
By John Aglionby<\/p>\n
AS a location for a breakfast interview recently, the person I
\nwas meeting suggested we eat in the Shangri-La hotel's dining
\nroom on the 23rd floor so we could enjoy the view. That proved
\nwishful thinking. We could barely see the road below, let alone
\nthe National Monument a couple of kilometers away.<\/p>\n
The smoggy haze was all-enveloping, like a penetrable
\nblindfold through which one could venture without quite knowing
\nwhat lay beyond. It reminded me of the line written by the
\nAmerican poet Henry Longfellow: I shot an arrow into the air, it
\nfell to earth I know not where.<\/p>\n
Jakarta, according to United Nations statistics, is the third-
\nmost polluted city in the world after Mexico City and Bangkok.
\nAnd a 1994 World Bank report on the city said: At present levels
\nof emissions, the measurements of ... (pollutants) indicate
\nserious damaging effects of air pollution to health."<\/p>\n
Vehicle emissions cause 70 percent of the city's air
\npollution.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kasumaatmaja has taken
\nthe warnings to heart and is trying to tackle the issue through
\nhis Blue Sky program to prevent the city being overwhelmed by air
\npollution.<\/p>\n
One of the main consultants on the project is Swisscontact, a
\nSwiss business and technical cooperation firm. Its Jakarta
\nrepresentative, David Kuper, said there were three main ways to
\nreduce air pollution in a city.<\/p>\n
"You first need a good public transport system, run in
\nparallel with the authorities inhibiting the use of private
\nvehicles. Second, you must improve the city's traffic management
\nand drivers' discipline and the third way is to reduce the
\npollution coming out of vehicles."<\/p>\n
Blue Sky is concentrating on the last of these and has three
\nmain objectives, Kuper said.<\/p>\n
"The first is to introduce the widespread use of unleaded
\ngasoline, because then it would be possible for drivers to use
\ncatalytic converters. Then we need to clean up buses as much as
\npossible to reduce total suspended particle emissions and
\nfinally, the country needs a good inspection and maintenance
\nsystem."<\/p>\n
The importance of introducing unleaded gasoline was
\nhighlighted by recent American research which said that for every
\nmicrogram per cubic meter of lead in the air, people growing up
\nin that vicinity will have lost one IQ point. The level in
\nJakarta ranges from two to five mg\/m3.<\/p>\n
Last October, President Soeharto told the state oil company PT
\nPertamina to introduce lead-free gasoline by 1999. Minister of
\nMines and Energy I.B. Sudjana reiterated this after witnessing
\nvehicle-emission tests in January.<\/p>\n
Pertamina is not rushing to increase the supply of unleaded
\ngasoline though. And the public is not rushing to buy what is
\navailable because it costs Rp 975 (40 U.S. cents) a liter
\ncompared to only Rp 700 for Premium, the standard leaded fuel.<\/p>\n
Within six months of changing to unleaded fuel, people would
\nthen be able to install a catalytic converter in their cars to
\nremove other pollutants. "This would reduce vehicle emissions to
\nabout 3 percent of what they are currently," Kuper said.<\/p>\n
The major obstacle to this is cost. Converting a car or bus to
\nrun on unleaded and with a catalytic converter would cost up to
\nUS$200. This is prohibitively expensive for many road users,
\nparticularly the bus and taxi companies who are responsible for
\nmost of the pollution.<\/p>\n
An oil and gas expert for PT Jardine Insurance Brokers Scott
\nStewart said: "These firms are run on such tight profit margins,
\nthere has to be a financial incentive for them to change. Taking
\ncare of the environment for its own sake is a luxury they cannot
\nafford to indulge in at the moment."<\/p>\n
He believes there has to be a market for unleaded fuel and
\ncatalytic converters before Pertamina changes its refineries and
\ngovernment intervention, in the form of legislation would be
\nrequired to initiate that.<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers, a key
\nplayer in the debate, disagrees with this approach. Its chairman,
\nHerman Latif, said that while carmakers here are fully supportive
\nof efforts to clean up emissions, the change has to come from
\nindividual drivers.<\/p>\n
"It will not be easy to change drivers' behavior because that
\nmeans changing the culture. And that cannot be done with a gun or
\na decree. Drivers have to be convinced the changes are for their
\nown sake, safety and convenience," he said.<\/p>\n
Latif believes the place to start is to persuade people of the
\nimportance of maintaining their cars on a regular basis.<\/p>\n
"Drivers must learn the financial benefits of preventing their
\ncars breaking down. Then they will be more aware of the benefits
\nof changing to unleaded gasoline or natural gas."<\/p>\n
So, as the debate is running somewhat in circles, with the
\ngovernment wanting Pertamina to take the lead, Pertamina wanting
\nthe running to be made by the market, and the market wanting
\ngovernment leadership, either through legislation or education
\nprograms, it will probably be some time before Jakarta's 2.5
\nmillion drivers see where their arrows land.<\/p>",
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