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Environmentalists are awaiting an important resolution on the right of Jakarta to clean air

Medan, Indonesia – Professor Istu Prayogi spent the 90s living in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, struggling with a runny nose, headaches and shortness of breath all the time.

It so happened that the problem was all around him, and he wasn’t the only one who suffered.

“I was diagnosed by a lung specialist with lung contamination caused by air pollution,” Istu Nusantara Jaya, a professor at the Jaya Tourism Academy, told Al Jazeera.

“The government did not pay attention to the poor air quality in Indonesia.”

Depok is now one of 32 plaintiffs in an Istu court that has since moved to the satellite city of Depok, which is just outside Jakarta. milestone “citizen issue” the goal is to hold the government accountable for failing to fulfill the right of Indonesian citizens to clean air.

The Central District Court in Jakarta will hand down its verdict on June 10, after nearly two years of legal debate, for being guilty of dirty air in a city that regularly ranks among the most polluted in the world. .

Even in the restrictions imposed last year to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the streets of Jakarta were crowded and air pollution exceeded WHO and national guidelines. [File: Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters]

In 2019, a study by Vital Strategies and the Bandung Institute of Technology (BIT) found that Indonesia had the highest number of premature deaths associated with air pollution in Southeast Asia. The report also found that in Jakarta “levels of fine particles (2.5 PM) that are the most dangerous pollutant for health exceeded four or five times the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines”.

In the case of the citizen lawsuit, a legal maneuver in which private citizens file a lawsuit in an effort to enforce a tradition and a tactic often used in environmental law cases, the plaintiffs do not demand financial compensation but expect legal action to go up. raising public awareness of the problem of air pollution in Jakarta and putting pressure on the government to act.

The case involves the President of Indonesia, the Minister of Environment and Forestry, the Minister of the Interior, the Governor of Jakarta and the Governors of the Banten and West Java provinces.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs have demanded that the jurors handling the case be charged with negligence in enforcing citizens ’rights to a healthy lifestyle and ordering strict national air quality standards.

“We need a stronger legal framework and more progressive laws and sanctions regarding air pollution,” Leonard Simanjunta, director of Greenpeace Indonesia, told Al Jazeera.

The issue of human rights

Jakarta is home to more than 10 million people, but that number is growing by more than 30 million when they enter five satellite cities and surrounding regions (home to thousands of industrial and manufacturing centers).

“This case is very important because we already know that it is our right for human beings to breathe clean air,” Bondan Andriyanue, Greenpeace, Indonesia’s climate and energy campaign, told Al Jazeera.

“Air pollution on a current scale clearly violates the right to life and health, the rights of the child and the right to live in a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. This view of human rights changes everything, because then the government can fulfill its clear and legal obligations to respect, protect and fulfill human rights. [of the citizens]”.

Greenpeace activists are protesting to demand that the government take measures to reduce air pollution in Jakarta, in September 2017 in Jakarta (Indonesia), at the Ministry of Health. [File: Tatan Syuflana/AP Photo]

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2016, it was estimated that 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide were caused by outdoor air pollution (ambient air pollution), of which 91% occurred in low- and middle-income countries, the highest number of such deaths in South Asia. -occur in the eastern and western Pacific regions.

The WHO’s annual standard for ambient air quality is 10 micrograms of fine particles per cubic meter of air and Indonesia’s national standard is 15 micrograms.

But Bondan says Greenpeace has released official data from 2020 on fine particles (known as PM2.5) collected by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) since 2020 – when the coronavirus pandemic said traffic was lower in a few months. – It showed 28.6 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

“If we compare the standard air quality in the area with the WHO standard, we are still far behind. Even in the pandemic, the annual PM 2.5 data in Jakarta was above the standard air quality in the area,” he said.

‘My child rarely goes to play’

Elisa Sutanudjaja, director of the Rujak Center for Urban Studies in Jakarta, also joined the case.

He told Al Jazeera that he was pregnant because he was aware of the poor air quality in Jakarta and that the fear of air pollution has only worsened over time.

“As parents of a 10-year-old girl, we almost always use public transportation in Jakarta or on foot,” he told Al Jazeera. “But we found that we couldn’t enjoy traveling because of the pollution, especially from the smoke from motor vehicles. Nowadays, my baby rarely goes outside to play.”

According to a 2019 report by Vital Strategies and the Bandung Institute of Technology (BIT), BIT air quality experts took samples from three locations around Jakarta during the wet and dry season, when the city’s main sources of pollution come from vehicles. , open burning of secondary aerosols such as ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate, construction activities, biomass and other fuels, dust from paved roads, re-suspended soil particles, sea salt and coal combustion.

“Indonesia’s coal-fired power plant regulations and discharges are very quiet,” Leonard of Greenpeace said. “There are coal-fired power stations on the outskirts of Jakarta and, if we use a mathematical model, of course it carries emissions to the city.”

Air quality has not improved since the lawsuit was filed two years ago. This image shows Jakarta’s latest view of high-rise offices and condominiums surrounded by smoke [Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters]

In addition to tightening regulations on coal emissions, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit hope the government will rethink its entire urban planning strategy in the city.

“The central government, through the Ministry of Public Works, continues to insist on building toll roads, even though private vehicles are one of the biggest causes of air pollution,” Elisa said. “I hope that through this lawsuit, we will establish a strategy to change this sustainable development model and mobility policy.”

“While the development model is still self-centered, there will be no significant improvement.”

For their part, the defendants have suggested that they are responsible for the harmful air in Jakarta.

“People who have filed the lawsuit have also contributed to the decline in air quality,” said Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who is appearing in the V case in 2019.

“If everyone didn’t ride a bike, it would be different. Air quality is not only caused by one or two professions, but by all of us, including those who filed a civil lawsuit. “




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