Clean, fresh air remains a dream for Jakarta

Clean, fresh air remains a dream for Jakarta

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to walk along Jakarta's roads
without being suffocated by exhaust fumes from passing vehicles?

But even with the implementation of Bylaw No. 2/2005 on air
pollution control in February next year, this utopian dream may
probably stay just that: a dream.

True to its label as the third most polluted city in the world
after Mexico City and Bangkok, Jakarta experienced only 18 days
of fresh air in 2004, compared to 21 days in 2003 and 25 days in
2002.

And don't be surprised if what you inhale per cubic meter into
your lungs during the day are actually pollutants, like more than
68,000 micrograms of carbon monoxide (CO), over 4,700 micrograms
of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), 5,928 micrograms of hydrocarbons and 369
micrograms of particulate matter.

"These are the estimated figures in 2005 based on data we have
in 2002, taking into consideration the increasing number of motor
vehicles in the city and diminishing green open spaces,"
environmental expert Ahmad Safrudin told The Jakarta Post.

According to the coordinator of non-governmental consortium
Joint Committee for Leaded Gasoline Phase Out (KPBB), the ideal
green open space for a densely populated city such as Jakarta is
30 percent. The city, however, only has 7 percent green open
spaces.

One pollutant that causes environmentalists most concern is
the high level of particulate matter in the city's air that
causes breathing difficulties, particularly among the elderly and
those suffering heart conditions.

Even if the implementation of Bylaw No. 2/2005 goes according
to plan, and all obstacles have been miraculously smoothed out,
it would take at least two to five years until people in the city
could breathe the fresh air they deserve.

"But there are so many aspects to be considered, obstacles to
overcome, that frankly we are pessimistic that it will happen at
all," Ahmad, who is also chief executive of the Indonesian Lead
Information Center, said.

Bylaw No. 2/2005 deals with overcoming air pollution by, among
other things, controlling vehicle gas emissions and by the use of
gas in all public transportation vehicles in the city.

Controlling emission levels in motor vehicles should be one of
the easiest regulations to implement, especially since several
regulations controlling this aspect have been issued since 1999.

Gubernatorial Instruction No. 24 for example, was issued in
1999 for the Jakarta Environmental Impact Management Agency
(Bapedalda) for the application of an inspection and maintenance
system (INM), and in 2000 Gubernatorial Decree No. 1041 on
emission quality standards was issued.

"Previously all of this was voluntary, but with the bylaw it
becomes mandatory, so enforcement should be easy," Ahmad said.

And yet, nothing is ever so simple. The number of cars in the
city, for example, is estimated to be over 5.5 million, far
exceeding the capability of the 108 auto workshops currently
accredited to check gas emissions.

"And not every auto workshop can do a thorough inspection and
maintenance," Ahmad said.

Substituting conventional fuel for environmentally friendly
gas fuel in public transportation poses even more problems,
requiring iron-clad political will and a great deal of
investment.

Ahmad said that of the 18 constructed fuel stations that
provide gas fuel, only four were still operational. They are on
Jl. Sumenep in Menteng, Central Jakarta; in the Semanggi area in
Central Jakarta; in Tebet, South Jakarta; and on Jl. D.I.
Panjaitan in Cawang, East Jakarta.

"And those four use old technology that takes at least 15
minutes to fill up the tank of a car, more for buses, making them
very ineffective," he said.

However, if all public transportation vehicles used gas fuel,
the level of pollution in the air could be reduced to about 35
percent for CO, 40 percent for NOx, 40 percent for hydrocarbons,
and 45 percent for particulate matter.

"Only then, perhaps, can we increase the number of fresh air
days by at least 35 percent, to three months or more," Ahmad
said.