Let's open our mind
------------------------------------------------------------------
For the past 29 years, June 5 has been set aside as World Environment Day by the United Nations Environment Program.
Apart from the political attention and action it provokes, this annual event can be a time for us to reflect on our present environment and our actions that affect it, as well as to address common tasks we can perform to preserve all life on our planet. -------------------------------------------------------------------
JAKARTA (JP): It is a terrible sound to hear; that coarse gasping of the pipes that signals the end of running water.
It is also a terrible feeling to try the taps every day in the wild hope that water will reappear.
As hundreds of thousands of people in North, East and pockets of Central Jakarta recently struggled with the effects of a water shortage from a collapsed dike, we are reminded of how dependent we are on our environment.
As is often the case, it is when a valuable resource is lost that we realize its immense importance to our survival.
A large percentage of Jakartans already know about water shortages every dry season, and for many residents in North Jakarta, a clean water source has always been a luxury.
Groundwater is unusable there because of saltwater intrusion, which reaches as far as Kuningan in South Jakarta, and affects Cililitan in East Jakarta and Kebon Kacang in Central Jakarta, according to a study by the Indonesian Institute of Science.
Residents in many towns and villages across the country, resort to catching rain water in empty containers stationed under gutters of houses.
In Pademangan, North Jakarta, for instance, locals are forced to use the heavily polluted Sunter River to wash clothes and dishes.
Vendors pushing carts loaded with jerricans of clean water offer 20 liters of water, for cooking and drinking, for about Rp 1,000, but some residents have trouble affording that.
As time goes on, more city dwellers may be forced to switch to piped water from wells because of widespread pollution of aquifers.
Overuse
Clean water is provided to about 40 percent of the city's population of 10 million through the city water company PDAM and its joint venture with two foreign water companies.
However, overuse of water by many customers is seriously depleting what many perceive as an unlimited resource.
Most office buildings, hotels, factories and homes in the capital have drilled their own artesian wells, many of which violate city regulations on deep drilling, and lead to overexploitation of the groundwater supply.
Experts have warned that overexploitation of groundwater could cause degradation such as ground subsidence, leaving areas prone to flooding.
Every year, ground subsidence in the capital is about 40 millimeters to 80 millimeters, with some areas in North Jakarta reaching one meter due to the overexploitation of groundwater.
Jakarta is not alone in its struggle to conserve clean water.
At present, the United Nations said 20 percent of the world's population in 30 countries faced water shortages.
With our present rate of consumption, that figure will rise to 30 percent of the world's population in 50 countries by the year 2025.
Water is only one component of our environment. Air, climate, soil, noise levels, traffic congestion and other living things also make up the conditions by which we are surrounded.
A recent survey of Asia by a Singapore consultancy ranked Indonesia as the fifth most polluted country in Asia as perceived by expatriates living in 12 Asian countries and territories.
India, China, Vietnam and the Philippines were respectively rated worse with all citing air pollution as the biggest complaint, the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. reported.
Biggest supplier
Enter Swisscontact and its implementation of a clean air project for this region, in full swing since 1997, to make Jakarta a more breathable place for everyone.
Restiti, one of the program officers at Swisscontact, said the main goal of the project was to reduce air pollution caused by vehicle emissions.
"Seventy percent of Jakarta's air pollution is caused by vehicle emissions; that's the biggest source," she said.
Restiti said next year all private car owners would have to comply with standard regulations on vehicle emissions as enforced by the city administration, according to Decree No. 95/2000.
Another regulation is to come before next year to make the ruling official, Restiti said.
Vehicles will be annually tested, and if they fail to meet the allowable emission limit, they will need mandatory repairs, she said.
The annual inspection will also be combined with car registration, so in order to register, vehicle owners will have to pass the emissions test, she said.
Bus owners have also joined in the act with another program started by the project in 1998 that includes driver and mechanic training, although the main concern is bus maintenance and inspection.
Buses from Bluebird, Hiba Utama, Bianglala, Bahala, Arimbi, Sinar Jaya, Lorraine, Kramat Jati and Safari Darma Raya are participants in the Clean Bus program and have earned a sticker identifying their vehicle as maintained and inspected according to the program's standards.
"So if you see a bus with a sticker on its back, and there is black smoke coming out of its tailpipe, you can complain to the bus owners or to Swisscontact, which is actually good input for us as we would be able to discuss the problem with bus owners."
Restiti added that the program was voluntary, so not all the buses from the fleets listed were participating, although most were and would gradually increase to perhaps include all at one point.
"They (owners and operators) want to join us as they save 5 to 15 percent on fuel costs," she said.
The program is in cooperation with the Regional Environmental Impact Management Agency for Jakarta Special Province (Bapedalda), and is the Clean Air Project's third phase, termed "problem solvers", which will run until 2003.
"After that, we are unsure if it will continue under Swisscontact or be phased out by the Swiss government and transferred to a local entity. So a foundation is being prepared, which will be the Clean Air Foundation of Indonesia (YUBI)."
Previous phases were the "eye-opener" phase, which made people aware of the pollution problems, followed by a combination of the phase with "conditioning", which disseminated information to people of what the standard regulations were and how to reduce emissions, especially from vehicles.