Pollution of Jakarta Bay

Pollution of Jakarta Bay

I refer to your editorial in The Jakarta Post of May 15 entitled
Bad smell in N. Jakarta. This is a horror story and well-known by
those who enjoy the sea around Jakarta and the Thousand Islands

In a chapter about Indonesia's Fisheries Resources in
Indonesia: Resources, Ecology, and Environment edited by Joan
Hardjono published 1991 Oxford University Press it is stated "The
most devastating Indonesian example of this is the pollution of
Jakarta Bay which has partially destroyed the inshore fishing
industry and completed the destruction of the coral reefs of
coastal islands like Pulau Ayer".

The chapter then proceeds to list the dangerous condition of
bay shellfish -- carriers of typhoid and hepatitis virus, faecal
coli levels at 25 times World-Health-Organization-recommended
levels and noting average faecal coliform and faecal
streptococcal counts were also high.

Applying U.S. EPA standards, heavy metal levels such a lead
and cadmium were very high, while mercury, zinc and copper were
high. Consequently, much of the fish caught in Jakarta Bay was
not edible. In villages close to the pollution source, children
were already showing indications of Minamata disease.

I am sure the condition of the bay has worsened in the past 15
years since this information was written. Speedy and decisive
action is needed.

The solution is of course industrial compliance and an
effective sewage system for Jakarta.

T. C. SCOTT
Bogor, West Java