Boediono Wants Cleaner, Environmentally Friendly Indonesia

Nina Indarti | November 04, 2011

A river in Jakarta. (EPA Photo)

A cleaner Indonesia has long been a dream of the government, but now steps are being taken with the launch of a national movement to improve cleanliness standards nationwide.

Vice President Boediono has asked all ministries and institutions to help prepare a Clean Indonesia action plan.

The action plan will be focused on six main objectives: transportation, cleaning up rivers in big cities, school hygiene, health facilities, wastewater and solid waste management in major cities and an overall change of mind-set.

“I asked for a more concrete plan, including involving state-owned enterprises with clear goals. Because this will be a national movement, everyone must help. It will be like people marching in step and will require close coordination,” Boediono said on Thursday.

The former governor of Bank Indonesia also specifically requested state-owned enterprises be involved in the Clean Indonesia movement because they are associated with almost all transportation facilities. Airports, for example, are managed by state-owned company Angkasa Pura, and cleanliness of railway facilities would involve Kerta Api Indonesia.

“I am requesting a follow-up meeting that also involves SOEs to set out detailed steps,” the vice president said.

Another major focus in the national Clean Indonesia movement is restoring the health of rivers in large cities. Minister of Public Works Djoko Kirmato said cleaning up Jakarta’s largest river, Ciliwung, would be the central focus of the river restoration program.

To support the cleanup, Djoko will coordinate with Faridz Djan, the minister of public housing.

Cooperation between the two ministries is expected to be necessary to tackle the problem of unauthorized dwellings on the banks of the Ciliwung. Faridz said that removing riverside dwellers would be a challenge because the residents had inhabited the banks of the Ciliwung for several years.

Even with the Ministry of Public Housing providing relocation sites for river dwellers, many are expected to be unwilling to move as they have livelihoods based on the river or enjoy living in a relatively central location that they could not otherwise afford.

Meanwhile, Boediono said it was time to improve the management of wastewater and solid waste in major cities, and that several cities would be selected for a number of trial waste management programs.

Minister of Industry M.S. Hidayat said small industries would be the major challenge for such programs. The reason being, he said, was that there were an estimated 2.5 million small industrial businesses operating throughout Indonesia, with the majority employing problematic waste management practices.

To overcome this problem, Hidayat proposed partnerships between small and large industries, as major industries are more experienced and have better resources to help small companies manage waste properly.

“We have consistent monitoring for large industrial enterprises,” the minister said.

Boediono said the final and most important aspect of the Clean Indonesia campaign was education for the next generation. “This should be the focus we really work hard on, and we mustn’t wait too long,” he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/boediono-wants-cleaner-environmentally-friendly-indonesia/476187

City Authorities Scramble to Counter Wet Season’s First Major Flood

City Authorities Scramble to Counter Wet Season’s First Major Flood
Dofa Fasila | November 01, 2011

Two children ride a bicycle in front of their waterlogged house in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, on Monday. Floodwaters from the nearby Krukut River reached a peak of two meters on Sunday afternoon but receded to 50 centimeters on Monday. (Antara Photo)

The city administration was quick to announce on Monday that it had plans to address the perennial flooding problem in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, a day after homes there were submerged in waters up to 1.5 meters high.

As officials hurried to set up health posts and prepare hospitals to take care of flood victims from the area, Jakarta secretary Fadjar Panjaitan said the administration had both a short- and long-term plan to overcome the problem.

Pondok Labu has always been prone to flooding and the floodwaters that sent hundreds of families fleeing the area on Sunday night was the capital’s first major incident since the start of this year’s rainy season.

Fadjar said the flooding was caused by heavy rains in the upstream areas of the Krukut River.

The short-term plan, Fadjar said, is to build a canal to divert some of the water from the Krukut River from areas where the river had narrowed because of heavy construction to wider ones. Construction of the canal would begin this month and Rp 1 billion ($113,000) has been allocated for it.

Over the longer term, authorities will build a dam to regulate the flow of the river. Construction will begin in 2012 at a cost of Rp 10 billion, he said.

“There still are land plots that need to be freed [for the dam], so while waiting we will build the canals through the land we have already purchased,” Fadjar said.

The head of the city’s water resource management, Tarjuki, said the reservoir was expected to cover an area of 1.6 hectares but 7,825 square meters of land still had to be purchased.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, in a visit to the flooded area on Monday with Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono, said the participation of local residents was needed to free up the land needed for the dam.

“It is likely residents will need to be relocated,” the governor said, according to Beritajakarta.com.

Fadjar denied that the flooding was due to the construction of a shooting range for the marines. He said the marines had actually already built concrete embankment along the river passing through the range.

“It is now the duty of the Jakarta administration to build the remaining embankment,” Fadjar said, adding, however, that many of the areas along the river were currently packed with buildings.

Tarjuki said the Pondok Labu area was actually a water basin that was unfit to be used for settlements. He said the government was now trying to free the land and return it into a green open space that functions as a water reservoir during the rainy season.

The head of the city’s health office, Dien Emmawati, said that besides erecting two temporary health posts in the flooded area, the government has also prepared four local hospitals to admit any victims of the flooding and treat them for free.

She said that the posts have already treated 23 patients for minor ailments.

Dien said her office had also distributed disinfectants to local residents, to be used once the waters recede.

A total of 1,268 people from 358 families have been evacuated from the flooded areas. The flood, city data says, has inundated 325 houses in five neighborhoods.

The evacuees are currently sheltered at a temporary camp, a mosque and a church.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/city-authorities-scramble-to-counter-wet-seasons-first-major-flood/475425

Flooding in South Jakarta Likely to Reoccur: BNPB

Flooding in South Jakarta Likely to Reoccur: BNPB
Jakarta Globe | November 01, 2011

Flood victims leave a shelter and head back to their homes in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, after the waters receded on Monday. Flash floods caused by the overflowing Krukut River had inundated the area since Sunday. (Antara Photo)

The spokesman of the National Mitigation Agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said flooding in the Pondok Labu area is likely to reoccur because the width of the Krukut River has decreased due to the growing number of people living on the river banks.

Homes in the area were submerged in waters up to 1.5 meters high on Sunday due to heavy rains in the upstream areas of the Krukut River.

“The housing areas growing rapidly along the river banks have depleted the size of the river,” Sutopo told the Jakarta Globe, adding that the river’s width had decreased from 16 meters to two meters.

“It means it can only contain 30 percent of the rainfall, thus the flooding,” he said. “It is important that the river be returned to its original width to improve its capacity.”

Pondok Labu has always been prone to flooding and flood waters caused hundreds of families to flee the area on Sunday night. This was capital’s first major incident since the start of this year’s rainy season.

On Tuesday morning, the Jayakarta Regional Military Command Maj. Gen. Waris visited flood victims in the evacuation shelter.

Waris’ visit coincided with accusations from evacuees that one of the causes of the flood was the construction of a shooting range for the marines.

“Our friends in the marines are taking the necessary steps such as dredging the river so the floods will stop completely,” Waris said as quoted by news portal Okezone.com.

The marines also donated food for the evacuees and volunteered at the emergency kitchen.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/flooding-in-south-jakarta-likely-to-reoccur-bnpb/475507