Plastic pollution in Indonesia has become a huge nuisance. Levels of particles of smoke in Asian cities (micrograms per cubic meter from 1987 to 1990): Calcutta (400); Beijing (380); Jakarta (280); Hong Kong (120); Bangkok (100); Manila (95); Tokyo (50). /~\, “H&M denied having a business relationship with PT Gistex Textile Division but admitted buying garments from PT Gistex Garment Division. Indonesia - an Archipelago that consists of more than 17,000 islands and that is home to about 267 million people - is believed to be the world's second-largest contributor of plastic pollutants in the oceans, after China. These are all significantly higher than the world averages, which are 32 ppb, 34 ppb, and 66 ppb, respectively. At the health centre in Kereng Pangi, a town in Central Kalimantan surrounded by goldfields, he explains his symptoms. "The threat is there every day and it is escalating. All of the people who live here have skin problems, from top to bottom … Now, if the water colour changes quickly, the itching gets worse. With an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 210, Indonesia’s capital easily ranked above other notoriously polluted cities, such as Beijing, Dubai, and New Delhi. Soil erosion from upland deforestation exacerbated the problem of siltation downstream and into the sea. We have to remember that in Japan a small place like Minamata shattered the whole world by revealing Minamata disease. [Source: Library of Congress]. The vast majority of ASGM miners globally utilize mercury in the gold extraction process. He sits behind a wooden counter, his blow torch behind him, waiting for business. Nearly half a million residents are directly ingesting water with lead concentrations that have tested at 25,000 times the recommended level. [Source: Jack Hewson, Al Jazeera, November 21, 2013 /~\], “Since the Citarum was identified as a "super-priority river" in 1984, the river's water quality has continued to deteriorate. "This is incredibly high," he says. Between 1.15 million and 2.41 million tons of plastic waste contaminate the oceans each year. If you are the copyright owner and would like this content removed from factsanddetails.com, please contact me. The heavily forested, mountainous interior hinders overland communication by road or river, but fosters slash-and-burn agriculture. He said that small companies could be blamed for the pollution. *, A different, but related, set of environmental pressures arose in the 1970s and 1980s among the rice-growing peasants living in the plains and valleys. Some development is needed! Poor sanitation means human waste flows into the river untreated, along with farm slurry and pesticides. Local people around the mine have developed strange rashes and large lumps on their bodies and tongues and given birth to malformed babies which have been blamed on waste, containing arsenic and mercury, dumped by the mine. Greenhouse has emissions from development and industrialization are increasing. "During the tests I got a couple of tiny splashes on my face," Ahmad says. Sitting next to Entin, her granddaughter sporadically scratches her forearms. In the transportation sector, Indonesia should adopt European emission standards (Euro 4 in 2021 and Euro 5 in 2025), switching the basic mode of transportation and attempting to mitigate current emissions by enforcing a low-sulfur fuel and low-emission vehicle policy. Fahrul burns it, and the mercury evaporates leaving the gold behind. The island’s largest river supports more than 30 million residents who rely on the water source for agricultural, domestic and personal use. Three hydroelectric power stations are operational along the river’s le… But in an interview, Thomas Panella, a principal water resources specialist at the ADB, struggled to explain why, four years since the announcement of the loan, no money had yet been channeled into improvement of water quality. "You've got to deal with forests if you're going to make any progress on climate change," says Carter Roberts, president of the World Wildlife Fund. What is certain, however, is how utterly regulation has failed. Textile factories in Bandung and Cimahi were found to be the major toxic waster contributors to the river that was also judged the dirtiest river in the world in 2007. Home to the world’s largest reef system, one of its largest expanses of rain forest, and some of its richest areas of biodiversity, Indonesia is now experiencing serious environmental deterioration. Four other Indonesian officials repeatedly contacted for comment did not respond by the time of publication.” /~\, Newmount Gold Mine in Buyit Bay, Sulawesi. Pollution perceptions > Air quality: Air quality. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit. 74/2001 on hazardous and toxic materials only regulates around 255 substances, when in fact there are actually a lot more substances being used out there,” he said. In this sector, the government needs to drive forward legal reforms, improve peatland and forest governance, create a “one map” integration of all geospatial readings, set a moratorium on the issuance of new permits for the exploitation of forests and peatlands, provide a license information system, and develop peatland water canals. In addition, the government must support the use of proposed breakthrough technologies, including the diffusion and deployment of clean-energy technologies. This ground water will decrease its quality. The majority of the islands are yet to be named. Between 1975 and 1988, the release of toxic chemicals increased 500 percent. Mutually supporting data from various sources shows that a majority of Indonesia’s emissions come from land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF), which includes forest fires and peat degradation, while the rest come from a mixture of energy and transportation-related emissions. Manganese in drinking water, for example, has a standard of 50 ppb to minimize adverse health effects. Air Pollution includes particles of soot, organic hazardous material, heavy metals, acid aerosols and dust. Only now is extensive work being done to bring piped water to most of the city. The Minahasa gold mine near Buyit Bay on the northern tip of Sulawesi is owned by Newmount Mining Corporation, one of the world’s largest gold mining company. The mine was closed in 2005. “The government only controls the waste, when in fact it should ban the utilization of all hazardous substances,” Ashov told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. This effectively allows companies to discharge thousands of hazardous chemicals without fear of prosecution. Of this, Indonesia is estimated to contribute roughly 200,000 tons of waste from its rivers and streams. The pollution of the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Sumatra from oil leakage from the Japanese supertanker Showa Maru in January 1975 was a major environmental disaster for the fragile Sumatran coastline. Moderate. I have a bitter taste in my mouth." [Source: Library of Congress], Very few cities have sewer systems. Domestic sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and mismanaged solid waste are polluting surface and groundwater, especially in Java. [1] Average daily emissions in the United States amount to 15.95 metric tons of CO2 per day. When it turned white it smelt especially bad," she says. [6] At the heart of LULUCF is the issue of inadequate land and forest management. Indonesia's air quality has deteriorated from among the cleanest in the world to one of the most polluted over the past two decades, … "There are 60,000 hectares of denuded area that are completely pitted like this," explains Sumali Agrawal the technical director of YTS, a local NGO working to mitigate the impact of mercury. In 1983 some 3 million hectares of prime tropical forest worth at least US$10 billion were destroyed in a fire in Kalimantan Timur Province. The residents of West Java rely on the river for activities such as agriculture, fishing, water supply for homes and industries, and electricity generation. Indonesia is currently the second-largest plastic polluter in the world, coming just behind China. On one occasion Gistex's receptionist claimed that their spokesperson was unable to talk because he was in intensive care with a stomach complaint. “Some of the substances that have not been regulated are nonylphenol ethoxylate and pthalate, which can cause reproductive disorders and cancer. "There is pollution in the environment, pollution in the rivers, destruction in the mountainous areas and destruction of our protected forests. Eyes health. [2] The haze and its implications, as scandalous as they are, offer a perfect snapshot of Indonesia’s current situation in regard to air pollution and carbon emissions. Direct exposure, such as ingesting untreated or simply boiled water from the river also effects a significant population. According to Panella, $130m will be released for water rehabilitation projects in 2014, but he says Indonesia's decentralised government structure would "raise challenges" for administering the money. |::|, “Dr Rachmadi Purwana, professor of Public Health at the University of Indonesia is worried. Indonesia’s forest carbon stocks must be maintained and enhanced through conservation, sustainable forest management, or rehabilitation and restoration of degraded forest land. The products of many multinational clothing brands are manufactured here, with 61 percent of garments being shipped to foreign markets. In Jakarta the level of pollution is quite high, caused by the number of factories, … Indonesia's water and sanitation crisis With a population of 264 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and claims Southeast Asia’s largest economy. And four of Indonesia’s rivers rank among the world’s top 20 polluting rivers (Brantas, Solo, Serayu, and Progo). *, After Suharto was ousted things have only gotten worse. Once connected, air pollution levels are reported instantaneously and in real-time on our maps 46.91. Jakarta is shrouded by a thick cloak of smog and has severe water problems. M Environment issues in Indonesia include deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires. As a disaster-prone archipelago nation, Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to the worst effects of global warming, including increased risks of drought, flooding, landslides, fires, and disease, as well as the possibility of losing entire islands to rising sea levels. The smaller particles are more dangerous because they are more easily inhaled. The mine was opened in the 1980s when Suharto was in power and was offering favorable terms to foreign companies. *-*, Nadya Natahadibrata wrote in The Jakarta Post, “Greenpeace toxin-free water campaign manager Ahmad Ashov said the report showed that the government lacked in its efforts to control the use of toxic materials in industry. [7]. From 1998 to 2016, the country went from being one of the cleaner countries in the world to one of the twenty most polluted, as particulate air pollution concentrations increased 171 percent. One article published in the Journal of Water and Environment Technology in 2008 found a concentration of mercury in the Kahayan River of Central Kalimantan that was 2,260 ng/L. Respiratory problems are also very common. The Indonesian government is structuring a national program to tackle land-based management of waste over four years. In Indonesia, it's not only in one village, it's throughout the country. As Indonesian fishermen improved their technological capacity to catch fish, they also threatened the total supply. The effect on the local ecosystem has been devastating. Based on 0-50 contributions for Albania, Algeria, Argentina and 86 more countries and over 100 contributions for Australia, Canada, China and 9 more countries and 50-100 contributions for Brazil, Bulgaria, Greece and 12 more countries. Fishermen in northern Java experienced marked declines in certain kinds of fish catches and by the mid-1980s saw the virtual disappearance of the terburuk fish in some areas. This is very … I'm angry, but I don't know who to get angry at. The dyes and chemicals used in the industrial process - lead, arsenic and mercury amongst them - are churned into the water, changing its colour and lending the area an acrid odour. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. [6] See “CAIT Climate Data Explorer,” World Resources Institute; and “REDD in Indonesia,” UN Office for REDD+ Coordination in Indonesia. Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Global Viewpoint (Christian Science Monitor), Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications. With climate change comes rising sea levels, warming oceans, higher global temperatures, and tropical storm surges, along with corresponding social and economic crises at a global level. In many areas of Kalimantan, however, large sections of forest were cleared, with little or no systematic effort at reforestation. Bahasa Indonesia is the country's official language but English, Dutch, and other native languages are spoken as well. [Source: Jack Hewson, Al Jazeera, November 21, 2013 /~\], “For the past four decades, Indonesia's lax pollution controls have allowed industries to discharge toxic waste into the Citarum with near impunity. 64.50. [5]. For example, because less than 3 percent of Jakarta’s population is connected to a sewerage system, the city’s waste is typically discharged either into private septic tanks or directly into rivers or canals. Sewage disposal into such bodies of water is linked in particular with repeated epidemics of gastrointestinal infection. Karliansyah's office claimed the subject matter also fell outside of his remit and said to speak to Rasio Ridho Sani. It is estimated that over half of the city’s waste goes directly into the river, untreated, including a number of chemicals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, and pesticides from industry. Related Article Indonesia … Wastes flow into well water and salt from the Java Sea seeps in aquifers that supply drinking and bathing waters for hundreds of thousands of people. Additionally, the Ministry of Environment has long supported the work of NGOs like Blacksmith Institute and Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta (YTS) to work with miners in a collaborative fashion to mitigate their releases and exposure. The Citarum River in West Java is considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world.