Tangerang asks EU's help on pollution issues

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang

The Tangerang regency administration is seeking the assistance of the European Union to help deal with devastating environmental problems, including severe river pollution caused by industrial waste and coastal erosion.

Regent Ismet Iskandar said that he had delivered the proposal to visiting representatives from the European Union Parliament in the hope of working in cooperation with individual EU member countries.

"The cooperation framework includes dealing with coastal erosion, the development of slum fishing villages, riverbank management and environment monitoring," he said recently.

Ismet said representatives from the Netherlands had promised to help address erosion problems while representatives from several other countries would help deal with river pollution.

"As much as 70 percent of our 51-kilometer coastline faces continuous erosion while Karang Serang village had been eroded for a length of 200 meters to 1,000 meters per year," he added.

The administration has begun to monitor regularly the Cisadane, Cirarab and Cimanceuri rivers, which have been heavily polluted by industrial waste.

Separately, head of the regency's environmental management agency Deden Sugandhi said only 29 of 120 industrial firms, whose waste samples had been checked, had installed proper waste treatment facilities.

He added that his agency had found high levels of mercury in rivers flowing through the regency.

To cope with these problems, the administration plans to build several integrated waste treatment facilities, with a priority in industrial zones.

"This is only a short-term solution. Small-scale factories can use the facilities as well," Deden said.

He added the agency was still preparing the engineering design for the waste treatment facilities.