ECOTON URGES PRESIDEN JOKOWI TO CLEAN INDONESIAN RIVERS FROM PLASTIC WASTE

Plastic waste fills the Kalianak river.
The poor waste management system
makes residents throw rubbish
carelessly into the river.

Wednesday (2/10/2024) Ecoton sent a warning letter to the President of Indonesia, via the State Secretary's Office in Jakarta. Rulli Mustika Adya, an environmental lawyer who won the Brantas River Dead Fish Lawsuit, explained that the Jokowi government had neglected the damage to river ecosystems in Indonesia due to the dumping of plastic waste into rivers. In fact, Indonesia is the third largest country contributing plastic to the global ocean, plastic waste from Cisadane even flows as far as South Africa.

"Jokowi's government has failed to protect Indonesian rivers from plastic waste pollution, the health threat is before our eyes because this plastic waste has turned into "microplastics pollute the food chain, raw materials for drinking water and because of that we are in the category of countries with the largest population of plastic eaters in the world," said Rulli. Furthermore, the Alumni of the Faculty of Law, Bhayangkara University, Surabaya, explained that every month Indonesians eat 15 grams of plastic or the equivalent. with an identity card. "The Jokowi government must be responsible," concluded Rulli

In the last 10 years, rivers in Indonesia have been drowning in plastic waste. Big rivers in Bekasi, Bandung, Surabaya, Banyuwangi, Jakarta and other big cities in Indonesia have been filled with plastic waste. "Indonesian rivers are not a priority in environmental and water resources management in the Era of President Jokowi, so rivers are used as garbage dumps”, said Rulli Mustika Adya, Ecoton Environmental Lawyer. 

A total of 37 Trans-Provincial River Areas (TPRA)and National Strategic River Areas (NSRA)  throughout Indonesia are in a state of emergency due to waste and microplastic pollution based on findings from the Indonesian River Expedition (IRE).

This emergency is because 25,733 pieces of waste were found in 64 river locations, the results of laboratory tests of microplastic contamination in 82 river locations throughout Indonesia with the highest contamination in the Brantas River, East Java as many as 636 particles/liter, 3 rivers in North Sumatra as many as 520 particles/liter, 7 rivers in West Sumatra as many as 508 particles/liter, 8 rivers in Bangka Belitung as many as 497 particles/liter and rivers in Central Java as many as 460 particles/liter as well as 146 local and national media news collected by IRE since 2021 - 2024 which reported on waste and microplastic pollution in 37 TPRA and NSRA did not receive a serious response from President Jokowi's government.

Weak implementation of law enforcement related to the environment and water resources, the habit of throwing garbage into rivers, minimal awareness of processing industrial and household waste as well as business activities and/or other activities related to rivers are the main factors in river pollution.

The river areas mentioned above are the absolute authority and responsibility of the President as mandated in a number of laws and regulations, namely Law Number 17 of 2019 concerning Water Resources (Law 17/2019), Law Number 18 of 2008 concerning Waste Management (Law 18/2008) and Government Regulation Number 22 of 2021 concerning the Implementation of Environmental Protection and Management (PP 22/2021).

The Nusantara River Expedition Survey on public perception of river management in Indonesia with a total of 1148 respondents domiciled in 166 cities in 30 provinces. 92% of respondents stated that river ecosystems are very important for human life and support Indonesia's development, but 82% stated that the Indonesian government still ignores river management in Indonesia.

President Jokowi is negligent, this is the reality that will occur at the end of President Jokowi's term in October because he "FAILED TO PROHIBIT EVERYONE FROM PUTTING WASTE INTO WATER BODIES", this prohibition is contained in article 159 of PP 22/2021. Not only that, President Jokowi has ignored the provisions of the National Water Quality Standards in Attachment VI of PP 22 of 2021 concerning River Water Quality Standards and the Like which requires no waste (NIHIL) in its parameters in all river classes, from class 1 - 4.

This failure of President Jokowi is the main basis for the Ecology and Wetland Conservation Study Foundation (ECOTON) to file a summons to the Government of President Jokowi on the performance of water resource management and the President's Early Warning of the upcoming government in terms of river protection and resource management for the people of Indonesia.

Therefore, we hereby ask the government to:

1. Clean up the rivers in Indonesia that are under the authority of the President until they are free from waste and initiate a National Movement to free Indonesian rivers from plastic waste and all types of waste.

2. The President guarantees that waste management services are provided to the community by providing Integrated Waste Management Facilities (TPST 3R) in all villages/sub-districts whose areas are crossed by Trans-Provincial River Areas and National Strategic River Areas.

3. Encourage the Clean Friday movement in school environments, government environments, and university environments to collect garbage in rivers, tributaries, and water flows that flow into the Trans-Provincial River Area and National Strategic River Area.

4. Include an introduction to the profiles of inter-provincial and national strategic rivers in science subjects or other lessons on natural resources and the environment in schools to introduce rivers as a source of life and natural resources that must be protected and preserved and sources of pollution and damage controlled so that the rivers can be enjoyed by future generations.

5. Encourage the president to provide questions or issues to the public at official events or working visits to provincial and district areas about the names of rivers in Indonesia, of which there are more than 4,000 rivers, and no longer ask questions about the names of fish.

6. The President encourages State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Regional-Owned Enterprises (BUMD), Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDES), Foreign Investment Companies (PMA) and Domestic Investment Companies (PMDN) to adopt Indonesian rivers that are proven to be polluted by waste and microplastics to then clean and restore the rivers so that they are free of plastic waste.

7. Establish a coordination forum or special body that focuses on real, serious and continuous work in efforts to manage Water Resources in Cross-Provincial River Areas and National Strategic River Areas.

8. Prepare and establish policies on efforts to prevent, handle and control Microplastic Pollution Quality Standards which pose a threat to the health of living things in Trans-Provincial River Areas and National Strategic River Areas.

9. The President issued a warning or strict sanctions to business entities and/or activities (producers) for waste that pollutes rivers in the Trans-Provincial River Area and National Strategic River Area and other river areas in Indonesia and encouraged and forced industries producing sachet waste and single-use plastic packaging that through the Waste Brand Audit conducted by the Nusantara River Expedition were proven to be pollutants in rivers including Wings, Unilever, Indofood, Mayora, Santos Jaya Abadi, Unicharm, P&G, Garuda Food, Ajinomoto to be responsible for plastic packaging waste found scattered and polluting Indonesian rivers.

10.    Establish the President's policy on Accelerating Water Resources Management in Trans-Provincial River Areas and National Strategic River Areas.