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An inspection of Jakarta's waterways

An inspection of Jakarta’s waterways in November revealed that the program slated to clear the city’s 13 rivers of trash and debris that cause flooding, disease and pollution has moved only at a snail’s pace.

 

The deputy mayor, who led the inspection, blamed riverside residents for continuing to dump their rubbish into the waterways, but programs aimed at educating people about proper trash disposal, as well as improved sanitation and trash collection have also made little progress.

 

In other areas, flood mitigation projects, such as a World Bank-funded dredging program and the creation of embankments to protect neighborhoods in the north from tidal flooding, have also stalled.

 

Jakarta’s current flood mitigation program calls for the construction of seven water gates and pumps in different parts of Jakarta by the end of this year. As of the end of November there was little indication that goal would be achieved. Government bureaucracy and lack of coordination among the different bodies tasked with managing the city’s water and sanitation facilities has made progress difficult. And urban planners say the government lacks a defined vision of how to implement these programs without community buy-in.

 

Despite laying out a detailed plan for Jakarta’s canal system, the government has wrangled over how to provide clean water and sanitation facilities to the half of the city’s residents who lack access to these basic needs.

 

It may not help that Governor Fauzi Bowo has received international accolades for his efforts. In early November, after his wrangle with poor drainage and traffic mix-ups, Bowo stuck another feather in his cap after the Philippine-based Clean Air Initiative gave Jakarta’s air a favorable score. Despite the heavy air and water pollution affecting the Indonesian capital, the score of 62 out of 100 placed it in the “good” category.

 

Source: Jakarta Globe