Jakartans Encouraged to Realise Clean Air Through Community Action
The Jakarta residents’ forum, Forum Udara Warga, is encouraging public participation to achieve clean air through community actions that complement government policies in controlling pollution. The forum serves as a collaborative space for citizens to share experiences and practices in maintaining environmental quality, while strengthening community involvement in addressing various sources of air pollution, such as vehicle emissions, industrial activity, and household practices.
Ajie, a community mobiliser and health educator from Kebayoran Lama Selatan, stated that the forum provides an opportunity for residents to learn from the experiences of other communities in tackling environmental issues. “The hope is that more young people will get involved,” Ajie said.
One of the forum’s agendas, titled “Udara Kita, Suara Kita” (Our Air, Our Voice), was held at Tebet Eco Park on Sunday (21/6), initiated by Katadata Green in partnership with Breathe Cities Jakarta. During the meeting, the forum agreed to position clean air as a health right, rather than merely an environmental issue.
Rahmawati, Head of the Environmental Quality Monitoring Sub-group at the DKI Jakarta Environmental Agency, affirmed the government’s commitment to expanding support for citizen initiatives that have proven effective on the ground. “What the community is doing does not just complement government programmes. This should be the foundation of our clean air policy going forward,” Ajie said.
The forum also relaunched the Jakarta Rendah Emisi (Jakarta Low Emission) platform through the website jakartarendahemisi.id. This shared channel is designed to enable residents, civil society organisations, and local government to discuss, monitor, and promote concrete local actions sustainably.
Imelda Maidir, Indonesia Country Coordinator for Vital Strategies and a representative of Breathe Cities Jakarta, expressed hope that dialogue among residents would not end after the forum but continue through the use of the JRE platform. “This forum must not stop here. JRE is where we continue this conversation every day,” Imelda said.
One concrete community action was demonstrated by residents of RW 004 Semper Barat, Cilincing District, North Jakarta, who face exposure to pollution from heavy vehicle activity around the Tanjung Priok Port area and open waste burning. These activities contribute to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions, which adversely affect respiratory health, particularly among children and the elderly. “We don’t just want to stop the burning of rubbish. We want residents to realise that we are empowered to reduce sources of pollution, and that it also benefits us,” said Nur.
Since its inception in 2017, the Kenanga Waste Bank has grown to over 600 active customers. Savings from waste can be converted to cover education costs, childbirth expenses, and business capital. The community is now designing a programme to use the waste bank’s proceeds to activate green open spaces, including children’s playgrounds. In collaboration with the local government, residents have successfully transformed a former container parking area into a green park and are currently building a supporting reservoir. “We want our children to have a proper place to play and to breathe clean air with peace of mind,” Nur concluded.
The Forum Udara Warga programme receives full support from Breathe Cities, a global initiative launched in 2023 to help cities worldwide, including Jakarta, improve air quality and public health through strengthened data and increased public awareness.