Governor targets less air pollution

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Fauzi Bowo is targeting a decrease in air pollution of 30 percent during his five-year term.

"To achieve that, we are preparing strategic measures for the use of alternative fuels (to reduce carbon dioxide emissions)," he was quoted as saying Saturday by the city's official Beritajakarta.com news portal.

The first sector to be affected by the new policy, he said, would be public transportation.

All public transportation vehicles, such as buses and taxis, would soon be required to use environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG), or biogas.

"The pollutants from natural gas are less harmful to the environment and human health than those from oil-based fuels," Fauzi said.

The city administration says that the cause of 70 percent of air pollution in Jakarta is car emissions, while the remaining 30 percent comes from industry.

Activists say an increase in private vehicles is the main cause of the air pollution problem.

At least 2.5 million private cars and 3.8 million motorcycles traverse the city's roads on weekdays.

The increase in private cars has also added to the already severe congestion on Jakarta's streets.

The compulsory use of natural gas by public transportation vehicles is already required under the much-lauded 2005 Air Pollution Ordinance, which also introduced compulsory emissions tests for private cars, a prohibition on the burning of garbage in open areas and the banning of smoking in most public places.

CNG use, however, has yet to be enforced due to a lack of CNG outlets in Jakarta.

As part of the effort to both reduce the number of cars and air pollution, the administration has organized a number of so-called car-free days in a number of different parts of the city.

Although these are widely considered to have been ineffectual due to weak coordination between officials and the police, the city administration nevertheless claims that they have helped improve air quality.

It says that Jakartans enjoyed no more than 30 days of clean air in 2005, but had 45 good days in 2006. It also says that there have been 54 good days recorded so far this year.

Besides air pollution, Jakarta is also facing a worsening groundwater crisis, which has led to saltwater intrusion and subsidence.

Jakarta Mining Agency head Peni Susanti said that groundwater levels had fallen to between 2 and 5 meters from the surface.

"We obtained these figures from our groundwater studies conducted between 2002 and 2005," she said Sunday.

"We can see what is happening from the depth of the wells people have to dig these days ... In the past, people could reach the groundwater by digging down 20 meters. Now, they have to go double that distance," she explained.

The groundwater crisis, according to Peni, was due to the fact that the water firms were unable to meet the city's clean water needs. "Forty-four percent of people's water is obtained from wells."

To deal with the problem, the mining agency is currently building ponds and dams to replenish the groundwater supply. It is also monitoring groundwater use by industry.

"We have drafted an ordinance on groundwater use to make sure that it is controlled. The City Council is currently deliberating the draft ... which is expected to be passed next year," Peni said.