Clean Air Action Plan part of a new era of sustainable development in Bogor City
Bogor Mayor Dr Bima Arya stressed the importance of the CAAP at the signing ceremony on May 16, saying it was important that environmental issues be factored into the city’s urban development planning.
Bogor, in the Bogor Raya region of Western Java, is the sixth largest city in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area. With a growing population of just over a million people, city officials are committed to low-carbon development, environmental sustainability, and improving public health. An emissions inventory for the city showed that the transportation sector was the dominant contributor to SO2, VOC and PM2.5 pollutants, while industry was the dominant contributor to NOx and CO pollutants.
The CAAP covers all key emission sources, laying the foundation for multi-sector improvements in overall urban air quality.
Measures to reduce emissions from the transportation sector include the promotion of mass public transportation by resuming Trans-Pakuan BRT operations; strengthening the vehicle inspection and maintenance program; and the promotion of walking and cycling as modes of transportation.
Measures to reduce emissions from stationary sources, including industries, are focused on improving the system for emissions testing and tracking industry compliance; expanding the reach of solid waste collection to reduce the open burning of garbage; and banning rice straw burning and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
“The CAAP is a very timely initiative for the City of Bogor, coinciding with the updating of our mid-term development plan,” Dr Bima said. “It is crucial that we look at issues such as air pollution and climate change in the context of our city’s development. It is also noteworthy that the CAAP provides a clear framework for target setting and the monitoring of indicators to more efficiently guide policy and decision-making.”
Bogor’s CAAP was developed in collaboration with Clean Air Asia’s Integrated Programme for Better Air Quality in Asia (IBAQ Programme) and partners from the Association of Indonesian Municipalities, Bogor Agricultural Institute, and the National Institute of Technology Bandung.
“We are privileged to have had the opportunity to support Bogor in the development of its CAAP,” said Clean Air Asia Senior Air Quality Program Coordinator Dang Espita. “This further pushes us to seek for the means to support the identified priority measures, and continue to collaborate with local partners and stakeholders in sustaining air quality action for the city.”
The IBAQ Programme team in Indonesia, together with representatives from the City Regional Development Planning Agency and Environmental Agency, is also working to set air quality targets for Bogor for 2020 to 2024 using baseline data in the CAAP. Targets will be set that take into consideration national ambient air quality standards and WHO guideline values. The city has also joined the BreatheLife Network as part of the its commitment to better air quality and climate change mitigation.
The IBAQ Programme’s objective is to strengthen technological and institutional capacity for air quality management and climate change mitigation, and contribute to more livable and healthy cities in Asia. It is being implemented in China, India, Mongolia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia
.
