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• Speech to the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club

Speech to the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club

On September 22 Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo spoke to members of the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club about his administration’s efforts to restore Jakarta’s environment.

 

He began by outlining the major problems facing Indonesia’s capital, namely a population density of around 13,000 people per square kilometer, making it the 10^th most densely populated city in the world. The natural environment compounds the pressure placed on the land from the growing number of people, he said, since around 40% of Jakarta is below sea level, making it vulnerable to flooding.

 

With an overall population of 10 million just in Central Jakarta, Bowo said the large number of human settlements and industrial areas prevent water run-off needed to ease rain build up.

 

The influx of people greatly affects the way Jakarta’s government plans infrastructure and public services, Bowo noted, explaining the administration desperately needed to improve these areas. To do so, however, Bowo said he must overcome the three main challenges: 1) Financing; 2) Regulation; and 3) Human Resources.

 

On the first point, financing, Bowo said Jakarta is prevented from borrowing money from the central government to finance citywide infrastructure projects due to a lack of laws on this kind of borrowing. However, he said the Jakarta city government requires assistance from the central government since it currently lacks the finances to support the major infrastructure overhaul Jakarta needs.

 

With regard to regulation, Bowo said more laws are needed that will devolve power to the local level and clarify the roles regional governments can play in development. That will require more support for education of those involved in the process, such as public officials and civil servants employed in infrastructure services.

 

Green Growth

After outlining the challenges Bowo discussed his Climate Action Plan, which is aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change on Jakarta. He said his administration has prioritized education and awareness of the environment, particularly among the poor.

 

“Eradicating poverty and addressing welfare issues must go hand in hand with the establishment of green growth,” he said, noting that adaptation was as important as mitigation.

 

The government of Jakarta has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30% by 2030, Bowo said, a plan that involves spatial restructuring and transportation improvements – including a reduction in the number of private vehicles and an expansion in the TransJakarta Busway system.

 

Improving Transportation

Bowo said his administration would encourage commuters to use the Busway by making it more efficient – opening new stations and sweeping the Busway lane of other vehicles. He also said the government would start construction of a long-awaited underground train and improve the capacity of the above-ground railway network. He said the government had come up with 17 ways to improve traffic conditions – though he failed to give details.

 

Other efforts to reduce Jakarta’s CO2 emissions include establishing green building standards and retro-fitting Jakarta city hall to be more energy efficient; converting households and small businesses to the use of kerosene rather than petroleum gas stoves; and increasing the amount of green space from 9% to 20%, an objective Bowo called a major challenge since it could require forced evictions.

 

Next, Bowo returned to flood mitigation, outlining first the steps his administration has taken to complete the Eastern Flood Canal, which he said has reduced flooding by 30% in the eastern and northern parts of Provincial Jakarta.

 

He said flooding in the area was now “under control,” while in other areas improved river flows have kept floods from developing. The Jakarta government’s current goal is to reduce flooding by 75% by 2016 through renewed dredging and the construction of a water control tunnel between the Ciliwung River and the Western Flood Canal. He closed by calling on riverside communities not to dispose of rubbish in the rivers.

 

Poverty alleviation is also one of Bowo’s priorities, and he described steps to empower poor communities through the Economic Community Empowerment Program, a micro-financing mechanism that provides cash to poor communities so they can create new economic opportunities. Bowo said the government was also offering an environmental grant, and used the example of a North Jakarta community that had used the loan to better manage its garbage disposal. Bowo said the program had improved decision-making at the grassroots level and improved poor communities’ knowledge of economic management. He said the Jakarta government had distributed $2.5 million to micro-credit programs in the first nine months of 2010.

 

Progress on education and health care were the final subjects of Bowo’s speech. He said 24% of Jakarta’s roughly $3 billion budget was devoted to improving education at the primary and high school level. In health, Bowo said all poor residents of Jakarta have access to health care through the Health Guarantee for Poor Families program. He cited infant mortality and maternal death rates well below the national average as examples of the success of this program.

 

Before taking questions Bowo touched briefly on the smoking ban by clarifying progress on the latest regulation, which states that smoking is restricted in all public buildings. He said implementation of the law has not been very effective because there is a lack of clarity on who should enforce it. Bowo said he was currently working with building managers to ensure the law was upheld.