Breathing dirty air

The Jakarta Post: Living in Jakarta doesn't just take a lot out of your wallet, it takes a great deal out of your health, too.

The latest report to be released by the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency says that last year there were only 41 good air quality days. That means that almost every day last year, Jakarta's residents breathed pollution.

According to the report, January was the cleanest month of the year, as roughly half of the good air days occured during its course.

These findings are terrible, but the report has failed to provoke a reaction from the public or the city's managers.

Both the people who run the city, including those in charge of monitoring and controlling air pollution, and the residents seem ignorant of the problem. They must be aware of the fact that there is almost nowhere in this teeming city to breathe clean air. But real action to minimize air pollution has been very poor, both from government officials and residents.

Jakarta now operates five air pollution monitoring stations, which measure dust particles, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide. Unfortunately, this year the stations only recorded dust and ozone particles. There has been no explanation as to why the other chemicals went undetected.

An agency official has said that the city needs at least 25 stations in order to provide a comprehensive report on its air quality. The lack of monitoring stations is evidence of the poor attention the city administration has paid to the issue.

Large-scale construction work on the busway corridors and the monorail project and the hectic building of underpasses are believed to have contributed to the concentration of dust in the air. This assumption is debatable, however, as almost all citizens add to air pollution in their own way.

True, the city administration has made several moves to address the capital's air quality, but inconsistencies and law enforcement problems have proved hurdles to the affecting of any substantial change.

Home to around 3 million private cars, some 4 million motorcycles and more 300,000 public transport vehicles, Jakarta is regarded as one of the most polluted cities in Asia, if not the world.

The city administration issued an air pollution control bylaw in 2005 requiring regular emissions tests for private vehicles and banning people from smoking in public places. This was a strong indication of the administration's determination to curb air pollution. It also revived the promotion of the use of alternative fuels, to make amends for the high-profile but failed "Blue Sky" campaign introduced a few years before.

The use of CNG for motor vehicles, which started with several taxi cabs in 1986, was to be renewed in the hope that the move would lead to a gradual decrease in the use of leaded gasoline. The campaign won the half-hearted support of both the central government and the Jakarta administration, but with no tough, integrated efforts from the government and administration to push the use of CNG, the campaign was fruitless.

The ban on smoking in public places is another funny story. At the initial implementation of the bylaw, around April last year, many smokers were banned from smoking in areas specifically designated for the activity. Some smokers experienced rather rude treatment from members of the anti-smoking patrol team the administration established. And now, due to inconsistent enforcement, people are again free to enjoy cigarettes in public spaces.

But worse than all of the above is the poor implementation of the 13-year-old law on traffic and land transportation. Article 54 of the law says that anyone found operating a vehicle that is not roadworthy will be subject to three months in jail or a maximum fine of Rp 3 million. If the law had been properly implemented, the courts would be swarming with the drivers of public transportation vehicles, which spew thick, black smoke out on the city's roads every day.

Now everything has been out of hand for decades. There needs to be another tough and serious move initiated by the government. It could come from the Environment Ministry, the Transportation Ministry or the Jakarta administration. Non-governmental organizations, the press, the community and vehicle manufacturers must also get involved in the national move to clean up the air.

New regulations seem to be unnecessary. The existing laws, bylaws and regulations need to be enforced seriously and reviewed periodically, involving all layers of society.

It's now the high time to make a real and concrete move. Seeking scapegoats and pointing fingers at certain parties will not make any difference. Both the government, including the officials, and the public in general must be responsible for the polluted air in Jakarta.

Isn't it terrible when we are aware that the air we breathe will just get worse and worse?