City takes a step closer to enacting its green approach

JAKARTA (JP): The long-awaited bill on establishing the city's Regional Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda) was passed by the city council into bylaw yesterday.

The agency will assist the governor in addressing worsening environmental problems in the capital, which is home to about 10 million people.

The United Nation's Environment Program has identified Jakarta as the third most polluted city in the world after Mexico City and Bangkok.

The agency's jobs will include formulating policy on preventing and controlling pollution, coordinating efforts to curb pollution and managing the environmental impact of development projects.

Governor Sutiyoso said the agency was needed to put the city in order.

"I regret that many people still fail to prepare an environmental impact analysis report when they build factories that have the potential to contaminate the environment.

"I hope such problems can be reduced once the agency is established," he told reporters after attending the council's plenary session

Council officials said the agency was urgently needed because the rapid pace of development in Jakarta brought environmental problems, such as pollution.

The council's Commission A for administration, security and public order said one of the agency's most urgent jobs would be to restore the ecological balance that has been disturbed by development activities in Jakarta.

Commission D for development affairs said the agency should take swift action to overcome the city's environmental problems, which it said had reached an alarming level.

The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction warned that some ongoing projects, such as reclamation of the city's northern coastal area and the development of business and housing complexes, were threatening the ecological balance.

"We await the future anxiously because citizens are facing the impact of water and air pollution," faction head Lukman Mokoginta said.

The faction blamed the city administration's lack of regard for environmental issues for the loss of lakes, decreasing water catchment areas, poor management of waste and constriction of 13 rivers throughout the city.

"The administration must have the courage and honesty to admit the discrepancies and ignorance," Lukman said. "All the problems show that the administration's efforts to curb environmental impact have not been optimal," he said.

The administration admitted that many companies will begin doing environmental impact analysis reports only when the project starts operation, he said.

"We hope the agency will ensure that all regulations will be reinforced without discrimination. The administration should be brave enough to reject projects which do not have the environmental impact assessments.

"Those who fail to honor the rules should be taken to court," he said.

Head of the agency Prawoto S. Danoemihardjo told The Jakarta Post that the first environmental project to be executed by his bureau in the near future would be to encourage Jakarta vehicle owners to use gas fuel.

"We are concentrating on air pollution as well as water pollution. For water pollution, we will soon submit a draft law on construction of domestic injection wells," he said.

In the future, every resident who applies for a building permit will be required to build an injection well as one of the environmental facilities needed to retain adequate groundwater supply.

Prawoto said he realized the bureau's duties would be very difficult, due to the complexity of the city's environmental problems.

"But if we don't start now, then when? This city has been plagued by environmental problems for so long. It is time to take action."

He said he would also revive the city's regreening campaign and enforce the regulations on environmental management.

"With this new law, I hope we have a more powerful tool to enforce the existing environmental regulations," he said. (ind/edt)