Environmental protection a matter of attitude
Environmental protection a matter of attitude
JAKARTA (JP): Pollution has become an evil enemy of the living world. Slowly but surely, with its invisible tentacles, it kills plants, animals and humans.
The level of pollution in different parts of the world varies. But generally, things are worse in developing countries, which are striving to boost their economic development -- often at the expense of the environment.
In Jakarta, as well as many other Third World's cities, the air pollution is beyond tolerable levels, due to emissions from factories as well as vehicles.
Cars, trucks, buses and motorbikes, which do not meet road- worthiness standards, produce thick black smog wherever they go, jeopardizing the surrounding environment. Unleaded fuel is not popular and people do not really care about their vehicles' emissions.
Many motorists are too lazy to regularly tune their cars, even when they are heavily polluting the air. They prefer to wait until the vehicle breaks down before taking them to a mechanic.
"They know about the dangers of pollution but they just don't care," P.L. Coutrier, Deputy for Development of Indonesia's Environmental Impact Management, said frowning.
In a recent interview with The Jakarta Post, he said that in many cases, pollution problems have more to do with mental attitudes rather than environmental awareness.
Calling for a change in mental attitudes, Coutrier urged public transportation companies, as well as private car owners, to pay more attention to their vehicles, checking them regularly to reduce pollution.
In 1992, then state minister of population and environment Emil Salim, launched the Blue Sky Program, which included the smog check requirement, to reduce vehicular emission. The program was in line with new Traffic Law No.14/1992, which has a special clause on environmental impact. However, the operation of the ambitious smog check plan was canceled following public protests on Traffic Law No.14/1992.
The law introduced new obligations, such as requirements to use seat belts and to subject vehicles to strict emissions tests. It calls for stiff fines and penalties for violators.
Article 67 of the law states that anyone violating the emission limit can face a maximum two-month jail term, or a Rp 2 million fine.
Because of strong objections by the public, to the hefty fines in the new traffic law, the government was forced to postpone it until September 1993, and then enforce it in stages.
The clause on environmental impact remains ineffective to this day Coutrier noted sadly. "The government, in an effort to reduce vehicular emissions, should put high priority on the implementation of this article."
Rivers
Like its air, Jakarta's waterways are also heavily polluted. Many rivers in Indonesia are contaminated by industrial, as well as domestic, waste.
In 1988 the government launched the clean river operation, code-named Prokasih. The result was incredible. According to Coutrier, the volume of waste dumped into 25 rivers, in 11 provinces, was reduced by 50 percent.
"The polluting companies managed to reduce their waste without changing the technology. What they are doing is improving efficiency," Coutrier said.
He blasted companies which complain they could not afford the waste minimization program. "If they had the will, I'm sure they could do it," he said.
To reduce industrial wastes and hazards, Indonesia has begun to adopt, in the upstream industries, the cleaner production concept, developing and using cleaner technologies and processes. It is not always necessary to apply high-tech or expensive equipment in this cleaner production program, Coutrier said.
"Don't make judgments based on the instrument. What's important is the result," Coutrier said.
He denied the assumption that Indonesia is left far behind in the field of environmental technology.
"Basically, our technology is not that bad," he said.
Two officials from the California Environmental Protection Agency, Tim Ogburn and Gary L. Saphiro, were here recently to explore the possibility of building a partnership in the field of environmental technology.
California is the home of 1,400 environmental technology companies, which are ready to cooperate with interested Indonesian counterparts, Ogburn said.
The state of California has built such a partnership with Hong Kong and is working on the same project with Thailand.
"We are open to any business offers, but it depends on the business people themselves which choice they will pick," Coutrier told the Post after meeting with the American delegation.
He called on local industries to make thorough considerations in their decision to choose the best environmental technology.
According to Coutrier, in the field of environmental industry Indonesia has cooperated with companies from Texas, British Columbia and Canada. (sim)