JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Jakarta administration is making efforts to control pollution in Jakarta Bay by monitoring waste management among local businesses.
North Jakarta Deputy Mayor Ali Maulana Hakim said on Monday (25/2/2019) that the local environment agency was strictly monitoring businesses in the municipality for managing their waste, with companies required to submit quarterly waste management reports.
Responding to the finding that the marine biota in Jakarta Bay contained heavy metals, Ali said no recommended actions had been received either from the North Jakarta Environment Agency or the North Jakarta Food Security, Maritime Affairs and Agriculture Agency.
“If it is recommended that green mussel distribution be banned, we will help local green mussel fishermen to change jobs. We will also make sure that no green mussels from Jakarta Bay are [available] in markets,” he said.
Jakarta Food Security, Maritime Affairs and Agriculture Agency head Darjamuni said that efforts were made in 2006 to relocate and help green mussel fishermen find new jobs. However, the program failed due to the demands for high compensation and budgetary misuse.
“We implemented a program to relocate [green mussel fishermen] to Panimbang district, Pandeglang, Banten. The water there is cleaner because it is not an estuary. However, the fishermen requested for new homes through the relocation program, which would have been difficult for us, as it would require a huge budget,” he said.
Upstream control
Ecobiology professor Etty Riani at Bogor Agricultural University’s (IPB) fishery and maritime science school said that, in the short term, Jakarta Bay could be cleaned of heavy metal through dredging. In the long term, sustainable efforts must be launched to curb pollution in upstream areas.
“In the short run, heavy metal pollution in Jakarta Bay must be resolved by removing sediments for isolating in another location. The heavy metal content is really high, and it increases significantly from time to time,” Etty said on Monday.
Marine chemistry and ecotoxicology researcher Reza Cordova, of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Oceanography Research Center, said that many green mussel larvae in Jakarta Bay were physically deformed. This finding was part of a study he conducted with his team that was published in the Marine Research in Indonesia journal (2016).
The study revealed high concentration of heavy metal contaminants in the sediments of these waters. The concentration level decreases when moving farther away from the beach. (AIK/IRE/E06)