Indifference to environment prevalent ahead of Earth Day

It was just another day on Jl. Kalimalang in East Jakarta on Wednesday, with thousands of motorists driving back and forth — most oblivious to a backhoe attached to a floating platform swaying to and fro in a nearby river.

With a cigarette in hand, Wawan, the operator of the backhoe, directed the giant metal fork into the air along with hundreds of kilograms of sediment from the river’s bed.

“The sediment has turned into hard soil; you can run or even play football on top of it,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Wawan said that it had taken him two hours to clear sediment along two meters of the river.

The project, funded by the local administration, will take one month to clean 1.2 kilometers of the river. The Kalimalang River is one of the longest in the country.

Sediment and garbage from upstream areas are blamed for narrowing the river and causing flooding in housing areas along the its banks.

Data from the Environment Ministry showed that most of biggest rivers running through cities in the country are heavily polluted. Officials have said a lack of public environmental awareness is to blame.

This argument was also raised by an environmental NGO gearing up for an exhibition in front of the House of Representatives on Monday to commemorate Earth Day, which falls April 22.

Chairman of the Indonesian Orangutan Caring Club Ridhwan Effendi said the NGO had been attempting since Monday to encourage legislators to speak at the exhibition.

“We came here so that we could have a chance to engage in interactive dialogue about the environment with our legislators but none of them has come to visit us,” Ridhwan said.

He said the NGO had invited legislators from Commission VII overseeing environmental affairs to speak at the discussion but none had accepted.

“We are really disappointed with the lack response from the lawmakers,” the demonstrator said.

Achmad Djefrianto, a researcher from the Natural Resource Law Institute (IHSA), which also had a booth open at the expo, said he was disappointed with the lack of response from legislators.

He said that during the three-day expo only 44 people, mostly university students, had visited the IHSA’s booth to pick up publications about illegal logging in the country.

He said legislators should lead the way in raising environmental awareness.

“But what often happens is that legislators will only mention environmental issues after a natural disaster has hit the country.”