Workshop to discuss waste management

Sumber:The Jakarta Post - 15 Desember 2007
Kategori:Sampah Jakarta
The National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) is set to hold a workshop on community-based waste management, drawing examples from existing schemes and a study on the issue. The two-day workshop, to be held Jan. 16-17, will be organized in cooperation with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Mercy Corps, an American-based international NGO.

Participants would discuss various issues surrounding the waste management bill and examine "good practices" from selected community organizations which deal with waste independently. The JBIC will also present the results of its research on community-based environmental activities in Indonesia.

Oswar Mungkasa from Bappenas said the loose definition of community-based waste management refers to communities that directly and independently manage all the waste they produce. "In Jakarta we can see a growing number of communities (managing waste independently) ... but it is still far from city-scale," Oswar told The Jakarta Post over the phone. "I can say Surabaya is the most successful city to have implemented community-based waste management systems. "Surabaya seems to be more successful than Jakarta in integrating communities with the city (waste) system." Sri Wahyono from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology cited some examples of cities in Indonesia which had applied a community-based system. "Makassar in South Sulawesi, Cimahi in West Java, Medan in North Sumatra, Banda Aceh in Aceh, Tarakan in East Kalimantan and Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan are some cities outside Jakarta and Surabaya which applied the system," he said.

Oswar said, in its 2007 research JBIC compiled a variety of "good practices" relating to community-based environmental activities in Indonesia. Through its research JBIC said it recognized Indonesia's environmental problems required a a two-pronged approach. The 'hardware approach' deals with improving environmental protection and facilities, while the 'software approach' raises community awareness of environmental issues and establishes a system of cooperation between organizations concerned.

The workshop plans to follow up the JBIC findings with the launch of the Network of Drinking Water and Environmental Sanitation and its task forces. "The network, established in October 2007, consists of governmental and non-governmental institutions, universities and individuals," Oswar said. "We plan to establish a variety of task forces to support the network activities ... One task force has already been established, the Solid Waste Management System Task Force." Commenting on the waste management bill drafted by a team from the State Ministry of the Environment, Oswar said it had already been delivered to the House of Representatives. "In this workshop, we hope to examine to what extent the bill can accommodate community-based waste management." (uwi)/The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Post Date : 15 Desember 2007