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Jakarta, Indonesia

9.6 million est. pop. 2010

The city of Jakarta is plagued with polluted waterways,
poor air quality, continuous trac jams, and a host of
other problems that make the city environmentally
unsustainable. Steps have been taken to improve the
infrastructure, reduce air pollution, raise environmental awareness, and provide more services to Jakartas
residents; however, the increasing population and lack
of environmental education marginalize these steps and
are barriers to sustainability in the area.

he bustling city of Jakarta is the capital of the

Republic of Indonesia, a sixteen-thousand-plus
island archipelago in Southeast Asia. The city, also ocially a province, is located on the northwestern coast of
Java at the mouth of the Ciliwung River. Jakarta spreads
out from the coast along a at alluvial plain encompassing 662 square kilometers of terrain. Approximately
60 percent of the city is 7 meters above sea level, while
the other 40 percent is just below sea level. On average
Jakarta receives 1,760 millimeters of rain annually, with
January and February being the wettest months.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics,
Jakartas population equaled 9,607,787 in 2010, making
it the tenth-most-populated city in the world. The city
grew at an annual rate of 1.4 percent from 2000 to
2010, a fairly large increase compared to the annual
growth rate of 0.17 percent between 1990 and 2000,
but rather low compared to the growth rate of Jakartas
outlying region, known as Bodetabek, which grew at
an annual rate between 2.39 and 4.74 percent from
2000 to 2010 and is home to 18.3 million people. The
population growth in these outlying areas creates
roadblocks to sustainability in Jakarta because many

residents commute to the already overcrowded metropolis. Jakarta has a population density ranging from
ten- to twenty-thousand people per square kilometer,
with 60 percent living in underdeveloped residential
areas known as kampungs (Steinberg 2007, 356). In
some areas, auent neighborhoods border the kampungs, separated by high walls lined with barbed wire
and glass shards. The economic disparity, high population density, geographic location, and the lack of sound
urban planning have created environmental headaches
and obstacles to sustainability for the millions of residents living in Jakarta; some eorts are being made,
however, to reduce these roadblocks and make Jakarta
a more environmentally friendly place to live.

Early Environmental and

Health Concerns
Dutch colonization of Indonesia from the early 1600s
until the beginning of World War II inuenced how
planners designed and structured Jakartas network of
streets, alleys, railroads, and canals. The Dutch-built
irrigation canals were ineective in dealing with the
heavy monsoons and ooding common in Jakarta and
were lled with waste and debris, creating a stench
unbearable in the citys sweltering heat. In the early to
mid-eighteenth century, Dutch colonists living in
Jakarta, then called Batavia, began moving outside the
city walls to get away from the stench in the urban center. The lth from the canals and the stagnant water on
the ground also led to malaria, typhoid, and dysentery
outbreaks, providing even more reason for colonists to
spread outward from the city center. It was not until
1918 that the Dutch engineer Herman van Breen proposed construction of the East and West Flood canals

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JAKARTA, INDONESIA

to alleviate some of the problems earlier colonists had

complained of.

Sewage, Waste Removal,

and Flood Control
Some of the Dutch-built canals that stretched through
Jakarta in the eighteenth century still exist, causing some
of the same problems they did when they were rst built.
In many areas of the city, water from canals is used for
washing, cleaning, and shing, while upstream the same
water is used to ush out waste and sewage. Approximately
1.2 billion liters of sewage are created every day in
Jakarta, but only 600,000 liters can be treated by the
sewage plants throughout the city, with much of the
waste winding up in the citys canals and rivers (Steinberg
2007, 359). Industrial waste, refuse, and untreated sewage have been blamed for the thousands of dead sh that
washed ashore in Jakarta Bay in 2004. Of the 23,400
cubic meters of garbage created every day in Jakarta, only
14,700 cubic meters is disposed of by the City Sanitation
Oce, with much of the remaining waste nding its way
into the canals and rivers. The Jakarta Environmental
Management Agency has found E. coli bacteria in all of
Jakartas thirteen rivers, and illegal dumping in Jakartas
waterways has caused rivers like the Angke to shrink by
5 to 10 meters, resulting in ood control problems and
unsanitary living conditions.
Construction began on a twenty-four-kilometer section of the East Flood Canal in 2003, costing $210 million, but the project was not completed in time to prevent
massive oods in 2007. Shrinking rivers and waste- lled
canals were blamed for many of the problems associated
with the 2007 oods, which inundated 70 percent of the
city and displaced 450,000 people. The stagnant water
left behind from the oods led to an increase in waterborne diseases, diarrhea, acute respiratory infections,
dengue fever, and other health issues. The National
Development Planning Agency estimated the economic
costs of the oods to be $453 million, with even more
unaccounted losses in private property and destroyed
crops that grew along the riverbanks and in other areas
of the city. In response to the oods, the government
announced it would spend $300 million to complete the
East and West Flood canals; by late April 2011, another
$40.6 million was needed to nish the East Flood
Canal, with only 67 percent of the project complete
(Arditya 2011).
Besides causing major health problems and destroying
private property and crops, heavy rains and ooding
damage roadways and add more problems to the already
heavily congested streets. Since 2007 the city has dredged
canals and rivers and placed water pumps along major
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219

roadways to prevent ooding problems. These measures

were seen as a success by the government when 2009 precipitation levels were around the same as those in 2007,
yet no major ooding occurred. In 2008 the World Bank
granted a $150 million loan to the city and central government to revitalize the Ciliwung River and improve
waterways; there is some controversy over the project
because thousands of Jakartans living in project areas are
expected to be relocated while work is underway.

Air Quality and Trac Congestion

It was estimated that Jakarta would have approximately
12 million vehicles operating in the city by the end of
2011, with the majority of these being motorcycles and
mopeds, and only 2 percent of all vehicles being used
for public transportation (Fasila 2011). These vehicles
account for about 70 percent of the air pollution in
Jakarta, with the other 30 percent coming from industry.
Although the Jakarta Environmental Management
Agency proposed a law requiring motor vehicles to pass
an emissions test before drivers are given their vehicle
licenses, it is unlikely that this will have much of an
impact on air quality, since only 85 percent of drivers
extend their licenses and many more vehicles remain
unregistered ( Jakarta Post 2011). Pollution from motorized vehicles comprises 68.8 percent of the nitrogen oxide
(NOX) and 14.6 percent of the sulfur dioxide (SO2) found
in the citys air, with buses and trucks being the biggest
emitters of particulate matter. Compared to other
Southeast Asian cities, Jakarta falls somewhere in the
middle in terms of the amount of SO2 and NOX each person emits annually. In 2000 Jakarta residents emitted
0.89 kilograms of SO2 and 10.78 kilograms of NOX per
person. By comparison, residents of Bangkok, Thailand,
emitted 3.29 kilograms of SO2 and 21.09 kilograms of
NOX per person, while in Manila, Philippines, inhabitants emitted 1.3 kilograms of SO2 and 8.33 kilograms of
NOX per person. Residents in both Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, emitted less SO2
and NOX per person than Jakartans, while Singapore
emitted more for the same year (Ooi 2008, 200).
The economic losses to trac congestion are estimated
to be around $1 billion per year, and with the rate of
vehicle ownership going up by 9 percent annually it is
predicted the city will be in total gridlock by 2014 if
nothing is done to mitigate the problem (Economist 2010).
To help lower these costs, reduce air pollution, and manage trac congestion, a bus rapid transit (BRT) system
began operating in January 2004. The BRT provides designated lanes for buses, and as of March 2011 there were
ten such lanes in operation and another ve planned or
under construction. These lanes, or busways, help to

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220 THE BERKSHIRE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SUSTAINABILITY: CHINA, INDIA, AND EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA: ASSESSING SUSTAINABILITY
reduce emissions and travel times, but air quality continues to be a problem, and Jakartas macet, or trac jams,
are still some of the worst in the world.
Construction began on a privately funded monorail
project in 2004 to manage the trac problems and reduce
air pollution further, but the project was halted in 2008
due to legal and nancial problems; as of early 2011 it
remained un nished. Also in the works is a publicly
funded rail project called Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)
Jakarta. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is
providing the loans for the project, with funding made
available by DKI Jakarta provincial government and the
Indonesian central government. The basic engineering
design for phase one of the NorthSouth line was completed in January 2011, with expectations for the line to
be operational by 2016. It is estimated the MRT will
reduce up to 0.7 percent of the total carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions per year while increasing public transportation
capacity and signicantly improving travel times (MRT
Jakarta n.d.).
To reduce air pollution and prevent total gridlock by
2014, the local government is working to implement an
electronic road pricing system, which will require drivers
of privately owned vehicles to pay a fee when entering
major thoroughfares (Arditya 2011). The local government also hopes to improve pedestrian and bicycle pathways, increase the number of parking spaces throughout
the city, encourage drivers to use park-and-ride systems,
and ban vehicles all together along Sudirman and M. H.
Thamrin roads during car-free days, which take place
twice a month.

Raising Environmental Awareness

To help raise awareness and educate the public about
environmental issues, the Jakarta Environmental
Management Agency launched a river cleanup competition in June 2011 and handed out awards to groups and
individuals who helped develop water catchment systems, for using environmentally friendly plastic bags, and
meeting other environmental management criteria.
Privately run businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and committed individuals are also doing their
part to increase environmental awareness in Jakarta. In
2008 Jakartas rst environmentally friendly radio station, Green Radio 89.2 FM, was launched by radio
broadcaster and journalist Tosca Santoso. The station,
running on solar power, broadcasts out of East Jakarta for
nineteen hours a day, with ten of those hours dedicated
to discussion of environmental issues. The station is
involved in environmental activities, including a reforestation program in the Gunung Gede Pangrango National
Park, a primary water source for Jakartans.
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In addition to the radio, print and online media also

educate Jakartans about ongoing environmental issues in
the city. To promote energy eciency, improved infrastructure, and environmentally friendly development
throughout Jakarta, a website titled the Sustainable
Jakarta Convention (http://www.sjconvention.com) oers
news and information on sustainability issues in Jakarta
and lists workshops and events related to environmentally
friendly development and construction in the city.
Also raising environmental awareness among
Jakartans and the global community is Julia Genatossio,
founder of Monsoon Vermont, a company that makes
consumer products from trash found around Jakartas
streets, land lls, and waterways. The company was established in 2005 and sells items like backpacks, umbrellas,
and wallets that are made entirely of recycled Jakartan
trash. Monsoon Vermont has also teamed up with
WatSan Action to develop awareness of practical means
of improving water, sanitation, and waste conditions,
while also working to provide access to clean drinking
water, provide solid-waste management practices, and
improve latrines, drainage, and in ltration methods
(Monsoon Vermont 2009).

Outlook
By improving the citys infrastructure and increasing
environmental awareness, Jakartas planners are taking
steps needed to provide a more sustainable living environment throughout the city. The continually growing
population poses serious challenges for city ocials,
however, and until a clear set of long-term environmental
policies and goals are in place, ocials will continue to
react to issues of sustainability rather than addressing
them before they come to a head. Corruption, interagency divisions, and poor planning and coordination
among government ocials will also continue to create
barriers to sustainability, and until these problems are
addressed, they will cause delays in infrastructure
upgrades and better environmental policy implementation and enforcement. As environmental awareness and
education increase, some of these roadblocks will be
removed, but it will take the eorts of the average
Jakartan, the city and national governments, and the
international community to make Jakarta a greener,
cleaner, and healthier city to live in.
Scott M. ALBRIGHT
University of Hawaii at Hilo
See also Automobiles and Personal Vehicles; Cities
Overview; Consumerism; Education, Environmental
(several articles); Guangzhou, China; Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia; Media Coverage of the Environment;

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JAKARTA, INDONESIA

Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs); Public Health;

Public Transportation; Reforestation and Aorestation
(Southeast Asia); Singapore; Southeast Asia; Transboundary
Water Issues; Water Security

FURTHER READING
Arditya, Andreas D. (2011, March 3). Jakarta govt gives up on monorail project. The Jakarta Post. Retrieved February 11, 2012, from
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/10/jakarta-govtgives-monorail-project.html
Arditya, Andreas D. (2011, April 21). Extra $41m needed for East
Canal. The Jakarta Post. Retrieved February 11, 2012, from http://
www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/21/extra-41m-neededeast-canal.html
Arditya, Andreas D. (2011, June 25). One legal boundary to go for
Jakarta ERP. The Jakarta Post. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://
www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/06/25/one-legal-boundarygo-jakarta-erp.html
Asri, Dail Umamil, & Hidayat, Budi. (2005). Current transportation
issues in Jakarta and its impacts on environment. Proceedings of
the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies , 5, 17921798.
Retrieved February 11, 2012, from http://www.easts.info/on-line/
proceedings_05/1792.pdf
Badan Pusat Statistik [Central Bureau of Statistics]. (2010). Indonesian
population by province, 1971, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2010.
Retrieved February 11, 2012, from http://www.bps.go.id/eng/tab_sub/
view.php?tabel=1&daftar=1&id_subyek=12&notab=1
Cybriwsky, Roman, & Ford, Larry R. (2001). City pro le Jakarta.
Cities, 18(3), 199210.
Dick, Howard; Houben, Vincent J. H.; Lindblad, J. Thomas; & Wie,
Thee Kian. (2002). The emergence of a national economy: An economic
history of Indonesia , 18002000. Honolulu: University of Hawaii
Press.
The Economist. (2010, February 4). Trac in Indonesias capital, Jam
Jakarta: The race to beat total gridlock. Retrieved June 29, 2011,
from http://www.economist.com/node/15473915

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Fadillah, Rangga D. (2011, June 7). People more concerned about

pollution than renewable energy. Th e Jakarta Post. Retrieved
February 11, 2012, from http://w w w.thejakartapost.com/
news/2011/06/06/people-more-concerned-about-pollutionrenewable-energy.html
Fasila, Dofa. (2011, June 21). Congested Jakarta must embrace public
transportation: Fauzi. Jakarta Globe. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/indonesia/congested-jakartamust-embrace-public-transportation-fauzi/448307
Th e Jakarta Post. (2011, April 2). Govt proposes emission test for
STNK. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://www.thejakartapost.
com/news/2011/04/24/govt-proposes-emission-test-stnk.html
Lamoureux, Florence. (2003). Indonesia : A global studies handbook.
Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.
Monsoon Vermont. (2009). Why water? Retrieved June 29, 2011, from
http://monsoonvt.com/waste_couture.cfm.
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Jakarta. (n.d.). What benets MRT
Jakarta would bring? Retrieved June 29, 2011, from http://www.
jakartamrt.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=
64&Itemid=103&lang=en
Ooi, Giok-Ling. (2008). Cities and sustainability: Southeast Asian
and European perspectives. Asia Europe Journal, 6 (2), 193204.
doi:10.1007/s10308-008-0176-0
Steinberg, Florian. (2007). Jakarta: Environmental problems and sustainability. Habitat International, 31, 354365.
United Nations, Executive Board of the United Nations
Development Programme and of the United Nations Population
Fund. (2010). Draft country programme document for Indonesia
(DP/FPA/DCP/IDN/8). Retrieved February 11, 2012, from
http://www.unfpa.org/exbrd/2010/second_session/dpfpa_dcp_
idn8_en.pdf
World Bank. (2010, May 27). Grant agreement/letter to the Wildlife
Conservation Society Global Conservation explaining the terms of
the World Bank grant [TF096887] in support of Indonesias Green
PNPM. Retrieved February 11, 2012, from http:go.worldbank.org/
EVRQDCU0P0
World Bank. (2011). Energy & mining in East Asia and Pacic:
Indonesia and energy. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from http://go.
worldbank.org/G86L8GYVC0

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