RI under threat of all kinds of pollution: WB report

RI under threat of all kinds of pollution: WB report

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia is under threat from air, water, solid and hazardous waste pollution, although some of the country's achievements in pollution management deserve recognition, a World Bank report says.

"There are some significant achievements in pollution management in Indonesia, such as the phase-out of lead gasoline in Jakarta and the reduction in the use of ozone-depleting substances. However, many challenges remain, especially in the effort to improve air quality, increase sewerage and sanitation coverage, and introduce better waste management," Thomas E. Walton, lead environment specialist at the World Bank Office in Jakarta, who led the team that drafted the report, said on Tuesday.

The report, titled Indonesia Environment Monitor 2003, is supported by information from various sources, including government institutions, non-governmental organizations and unpublished documents.

The report, published on Tuesday, stated that air quality in Indonesia was under threat, causing increasing health problems and productivity losses.

"Increasing urban growth, industrialization and motorization are exacerbating air pollution," it said.

The main air pollutants in the country were lead and fine particulates, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and ozone.

It said that the number of motor vehicles in the country rose by over six million between 1995 and 2000.

Forest fires, mainly caused by large-scale land conversion, had also contributed greatly to air pollution in several cities in Sumatra and Kalimantan, as well as neighboring countries.

"It is estimated that air pollution imposes costs of at least US$400 million on the Indonesian economy every year," said Walton.

The report praised the government effort to phase out leaded gasoline, although the program would only cover all cities across the country by 2005, which was two years later than the original 2003 deadline.

In water pollution, the report noted that Indonesia had one of the lowest levels of sewerage and sanitation coverage in Asia, and this was causing widespread contamination of surface and groundwater.

Poor environmental sanitation brings economic losses and reduced quality of life, according to the report.

Few cities had even a rudimentary sewerage system, and septic tanks were directly connected to canals or rivers, causing the country to experience repeated local epidemics of gastrointestinal infections, and have the highest incident of typhoid in Asia, it added.

Other sources of water pollution were mining and unregulated effluent run-off.

In waste pollution, the report noted that poor and hazardous management was degrading the land, air and water, and was also having an impact on human health.

Open dumping remained the most prevalent form of disposal in the country, with 90 percent of the waste being disposed off in this manner, producing leachates that contaminated groundwater and contributed to the proliferation of disease-carrying pests and pathogens.

It said that approximately 1 million tons of hazardous waste was generated in Indonesia in 2000, but there was very little controlled disposal.

With decentralization, local governments had to take more responsibility in planning and implementing solid waste management programs within their areas, Walton said.