Breathe, Jakarta, Breathe!

Posted by AsiaViews | Oct 9, 2017 | 0 |

The Jakarta Post

Oct 4, 2017

About 10 months before Indonesia welcomes the Asian Games back after 56 years, the government may have overlooked the necessity to clear Jakarta’s air amid its hectic preparations for the largest sports event after the Olympics. With daily pollution usually in the range of 51 to 100 on the air quality index (AQI), Jakarta’s air is below the standard of 0 to 50, which is deemed necessary to help athletes perform their best.

Time certainly permits the government to take all possible measures to improve the air quality of the capital, which will host most of the medal events and, hence, most athletes and officials of the participating countries. The relevant ministries and Jakarta government agencies need to devise a pollution reduction plan sooner rather than later to fulfil our pledge to be a good host.

Fortunately, Beijing has taught us a lesson. Prior to and during the Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008, the Chinese government undertook radical pollution-reducing measures, which included halving the number of cars allowed to travel in the city through an odd-even license plate number mechanism, closing coal-burning factories and suspending construction projects.

At the time, the Chinese government had no choice but to take tough action to meet the air quality standards set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). China won praise from both the IOC and athletes, but more than that, the pollution reduction efforts paid off and to some extent helped the Asian giant excel in the Olympics.

Jakarta can replicate Beijing’s extraordinary environmental experiment, especially in reducing the number of vehicles. Car and motorcycle restrictions are already in place in Jakarta, but the city has to implement the policy more widely to make a considerable difference. To significantly cut carbon emissions from vehicles, the odd-even license plate number scheme should be enforced across the city.

Such a tough measure, if it materializes, will not only bring our blue skies back, but also facilitate the movement of athletes and the public who wish to watch the competitions or cheer on their favorite athletes.

The government may also consider a piece of advice from Ahmad Safrudin of the Committee for the Phasing Out of Leaded Fuel (KPBB), who calls for intensifying emission tests for vehicles on the city’s roads.

The question, as always, is the alternative for private vehicles, as none of the mass transportation projects — the MRT and light rapid transit (LRT) — will be ready for the public during the Asian Games, as originally planned. To help ease the traffic, the city administration can declare a two-week holiday for schoolchildren during the Games, as it did when Jakarta hosted the Southeast Asian Games in 1997 and 2011.

The upcoming Asian Games will therefore test Indonesia’s commitment to the environment. If it can make Jakarta’s air fresher during the games, it should do so on any other day.

(source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2017/10/04/editorial-breathe-jakarta-breathe.html)

About The Author

AsiaViews

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Neigborhood Watch

Subscribe To Newsletter

POINTS TO PONDER

EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Breathe, Jakarta, Breathe!