It's been exactly a year since Jakarta residents won the citizen lawsuit on air pollution. On September 16, 2021, Central Jakarta District Court ruled in their favor for the citizen lawsuit on air pollution in Jakarta, which was filed by several civil society organizations that are members of the Ibu Kota Coalition. The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of DKI Jakarta, as one of the defendants, chose not to appeal the decision.
According to the Head of the DKI Jakarta Environment Agency (DLH) Asep Kuswanto, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government’s stance is based on the belief that the rights of citizens must be fulfilled. Since then, various steps have been taken to improve air quality in the capital.
"We have issued a number of regulations and developed strategies to combat air pollution. We developed Low Emission Zone in Kota Tua, integrated public transportation with electric- and gas-fueled fleets, built wider sidewalks and more green open spaces so that Jakarta residents can gather to enjoy better air," said Kuswanto in the talk show entitled 'One Year of Citizen's Lawsuit Verdict on Air Pollution: What Has Been Done in Jakarta?', part of the IniJakarta three-day event at Jakarta Old Town, last Saturday (17/9).
The strategy, Kuswanto explained, also includes efforts to control air pollution in Jakarta directly from the sources, such as motor vehicles and industrial activities. This is in line with part of the mandate of the Central Jakarta District Court's ruling, namely, to develop and implement air pollution control strategies and action plans. This step is taken by considering the distribution of emissions from polluting sources in a focused and targeted manner and involves public participation.
Fajri Fadhillah, Head of the Division of Environmental Pollution and Damage Control and Researcher at the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), also highlighted the importance of this step.
"Monitor the sources, and give sanction upon violation, whether it comes from mobile sources like motorized vehicles, or a stationary source," Fadhilah said on the same occasion, while explaining why strategies and action plans are needed for the implementation. "This strategy is important, because it makes the plans within it measurable, provides a time limit, and explains the steps," he added.
To control emissions from mobile sources, one of the first steps of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is to hold emission tests, both free and paid, which are required for motorized vehicles over three years old. Without passing the emission test, motor vehicle users will have to be prepared to pay higher parking rates, receive traffic tickets when driving in Jakarta and be unable to extend their vehicles’ licenses.
According to Senior Policy and Development Associate at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Indonesia, Etsa Amanda, the disincentives shows that Jakarta Government understands the importance of regulating motor vehicles in order to control air pollution.
"To overcome emissions in terms of transportation, we encourage efforts for people who use private vehicles to switch to public transportation and non-motorized vehicles such as bicycles. In addition to providing incentives to users of public vehicles and bicycles, there also needs to be disincentives so that people think twice about using private vehicles," said Etsa, while highlighting the importance of developing infrastructure to access public transportation. "For the first and last mile access to existing public transportation, sidewalks and bike lanes can be connected to the nearest transit point from where residents live," she continued.
Meanwhile, as an example of an emitter from a stationary source, the factory chimneys in industrial estates in Jakarta are also being closely monitored. Last June, Jakarta Government revoked the environmental permit of PT Karya Citra Nusantara (KCN) in Marunda, North Jakarta, as a follow-up to residents' complaints about the impact of coal dust pollution coming from industrial activities.
Slowly but surely, the steps taken by the Jakarta Government began to show results that garner people’s appreciation.
"As a Jakarta resident, I think that the existing initiatives are already pretty good. We have Jaki application with ISPU (Air Pollution Standard Index) feature, public transportation is also improving. I hope there will be incentives or disincentives for factories and motor vehicles related to the emissions they emit," said Raihana Putri, a resident of North Jakarta, who upon leaving and returning from work daily must face air pollution when passing by the Pulogadung Industrial Estate. "We want to breathe clean air and a better quality of life, and this can be obtained by air pollution control," she concluded.
According to the Head of the DKI Jakarta Environment Agency (DLH) Asep Kuswanto, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government’s stance is based on the belief that the rights of citizens must be fulfilled. Since then, various steps have been taken to improve air quality in the capital.
"We have issued a number of regulations and developed strategies to combat air pollution. We developed Low Emission Zone in Kota Tua, integrated public transportation with electric- and gas-fueled fleets, built wider sidewalks and more green open spaces so that Jakarta residents can gather to enjoy better air," said Kuswanto in the talk show entitled 'One Year of Citizen's Lawsuit Verdict on Air Pollution: What Has Been Done in Jakarta?', part of the IniJakarta three-day event at Jakarta Old Town, last Saturday (17/9).
The strategy, Kuswanto explained, also includes efforts to control air pollution in Jakarta directly from the sources, such as motor vehicles and industrial activities. This is in line with part of the mandate of the Central Jakarta District Court's ruling, namely, to develop and implement air pollution control strategies and action plans. This step is taken by considering the distribution of emissions from polluting sources in a focused and targeted manner and involves public participation.
Fajri Fadhillah, Head of the Division of Environmental Pollution and Damage Control and Researcher at the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), also highlighted the importance of this step.
"Monitor the sources, and give sanction upon violation, whether it comes from mobile sources like motorized vehicles, or a stationary source," Fadhilah said on the same occasion, while explaining why strategies and action plans are needed for the implementation. "This strategy is important, because it makes the plans within it measurable, provides a time limit, and explains the steps," he added.
To control emissions from mobile sources, one of the first steps of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is to hold emission tests, both free and paid, which are required for motorized vehicles over three years old. Without passing the emission test, motor vehicle users will have to be prepared to pay higher parking rates, receive traffic tickets when driving in Jakarta and be unable to extend their vehicles’ licenses.
According to Senior Policy and Development Associate at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Indonesia, Etsa Amanda, the disincentives shows that Jakarta Government understands the importance of regulating motor vehicles in order to control air pollution.
"To overcome emissions in terms of transportation, we encourage efforts for people who use private vehicles to switch to public transportation and non-motorized vehicles such as bicycles. In addition to providing incentives to users of public vehicles and bicycles, there also needs to be disincentives so that people think twice about using private vehicles," said Etsa, while highlighting the importance of developing infrastructure to access public transportation. "For the first and last mile access to existing public transportation, sidewalks and bike lanes can be connected to the nearest transit point from where residents live," she continued.
Meanwhile, as an example of an emitter from a stationary source, the factory chimneys in industrial estates in Jakarta are also being closely monitored. Last June, Jakarta Government revoked the environmental permit of PT Karya Citra Nusantara (KCN) in Marunda, North Jakarta, as a follow-up to residents' complaints about the impact of coal dust pollution coming from industrial activities.
Slowly but surely, the steps taken by the Jakarta Government began to show results that garner people’s appreciation.
"As a Jakarta resident, I think that the existing initiatives are already pretty good. We have Jaki application with ISPU (Air Pollution Standard Index) feature, public transportation is also improving. I hope there will be incentives or disincentives for factories and motor vehicles related to the emissions they emit," said Raihana Putri, a resident of North Jakarta, who upon leaving and returning from work daily must face air pollution when passing by the Pulogadung Industrial Estate. "We want to breathe clean air and a better quality of life, and this can be obtained by air pollution control," she concluded.
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