Stakeholders in Jakarta Identify Sources of Air Pollution, Vulnerable Populations, and Possible Solutions

Waste Burning by Manggarai Station. Twitter/@rustamaji

By Ririn Radiawati, Vital Strategies and Daniel Ibanez, WRI, June 15, 2022

In early 2022, the Clean Air Catalyst (CAC) team in Jakarta carried out a virtual workshop to gather information on air pollution issues in the city from local stakeholders, share information on projects related to air pollution issues, and explore the potential for collaborations.

The workshop was attended by members of 11 different organizations and was vital to identifying sources of pollution, communities most affected, opportunities and possible actions to take. Stakeholders identified the industrial sector, traffic congestion points, coal-fired power plants, and waste burning in residential areas as some of the main sources of pollution concerning them. Motorcycle commuters, sensitive groups (people with preexisting respiratory conditions), pregnant women, children(ages 0-5)  and the elderly (over 59) were identified as some of the communities most at risk from the effects of air pollution.

Scenes from the workshop.

Participants also identified possible solutions and next steps, including focusing on the transition of city vehicles to e-vehicles, collaborating with academia to identify vulnerable populations in Jakarta, engaging with local NGOs to expand outreach and increase awareness of air pollution issues and measures to mitigate it, and using the recently launched site (www.rendahemisi.jakarta.go.id) by the Jakarta Environmental Agency as a platform for citizens to file complaints or reports.

The results from this stakeholder workshop and the workshop for air quality scientists held late last year are informing the next workshop focused on data needs and design of monitoring plans and will help determine the source focus in the next phase of Clean Air Catalyst work in Jakarta.