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Multiple task forces make little dent on Jakarta air pollution
Efforts to curb air pollution over Jakarta should be coordinated among different institutions and done before the dry air during the dry season allows pollutants to accumulate in the air, experts have said.
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Buildings are seen amid the haze caused by the air pollution in Jakarta on Aug. 23, 2023. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
T
he three task forces formed by the relevant authorities to curb air pollution in Jakarta have made little progress in improving the city’s air quality despite their various efforts over the past few weeks.
The Environment and Forestry Ministry established the first task force on Aug. 18, assigned to identify pollutant sources in Greater Jakarta and enforce laws on industries and individuals found guilty of failing to control their emissions.
Two weeks later, the Jakarta administration formed its own task force to control pollution within the city’s jurisdiction through efforts like launching vehicle emissions tests, improving the quality of the public transit fleet and opening more green spaces in the city.
The Jakarta Police later also set up their own task force, under Coordinating Maritime and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan who was appointed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to lead efforts to tackle air pollution in the capital. Among the police task force’s duties were the inspection of polluting factories and conducting emissions tests on vehicles in the city.
However, Jakarta’s air quality has barely improved since these task forces started working.
Read also: Critics denounce govt’s methods in tackling Jakarta pollution
The daily air quality between Aug. 28 and Tuesday was consistently ranked as “unhealthy”, according to the Air Quality Index (AQI) monitoring conducted by Swiss air quality tech company IQAir. It uses data curated from 26 air-quality sensor stations across the city, owned by government institutions, private companies, nonprofit organizations and individuals.
