Waste management needed to curb pollution in bay
Waste management needed to curb pollution in bay
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
Environmentalists and researchers called on the city
administration to curb marine pollution in Jakarta Bay, which has
likely triggered the red-tide phenomenon and killed fish and
clams, by tightening control over industrial and domestic waste
emptied into the city's 13 rivers.
"The administration must tightly control industrial plants'
waste treatment facilities and also build a sewerage treatment
system to contain domestic waste," environmentalist Ahmad
Safrudin told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Safrudin was one of speakers at a discussion on pollution in
Jakarta Bay staged by the Office of the State Minister of the
Environment and the Institute of Economic and Social Studies and
Development (LP3ES) at the Jakarta Convention Center. The event
coincided with the Environment Week staged by the minister's
office.
Safrudin alleged poor monitoring of factories' waste treatment
facilities had contributed to the worsening pollution in the bay.
"It is public knowledge that the monitoring is marred by
collusion between unscrupulous officials and factory owners who
prefer to cut expenses by directly dumping industrial waste into
the river without proper treatment," he said.
He pointed to the absence of a sewerage system in the city
that also worsened pollution.
"The absence of an integrated sewerage system has encouraged
residents to use the rivers as public toilets instead."
A researcher with the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB),
Ario Damar, agreed, citing pollution as the root of the problem.
"The rapid growth of algae in the bay, that killed fish and
clams, was simply an effect of pollution. If we don't want such
an incident to occur in the future, we must begin managing
pollution problems," he said.
The results of laboratory analysis by different institutions
-- including the IPB, the Jakarta Environmental Management
Agency (BPLHD) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) --
have led to a preliminary conclusion that the dead fish and clams
was caused by the rapid proliferation of algae.
The growth of algae was triggered by the high level of
nutrient coupled with the low level of oxygen in the seawater due
to the high degree of organic and inorganic waste. Organic waste
is basically raw sewerage, while inorganic waste is mostly from
industrial waste.
Another researcher with the minister's office, Heru Waluyo,
said the administration should be held responsible for reducing
pollution caused by both industrial and domestic waste.
"There are standards stipulated in the regulations, such as
the standard operating procedures to clear riverbanks of
squatters. If the administration sticks to implementing the
standards, then, pollution would be significantly reduced," he
added.
Meanwhile, BPLHD head Kosasih Wirahadikusumah said his agency
had not reached a final conclusion over the cause of the
phenomenon.
"We still need to carefully study the case to find the real
cause of the phenomenon. Based on the study, we will be prepared
in case the phenomenon reoccurs."