Bapedalda East Java Institutional Strengthening Project

Project Background

Indonesia's environment is made up of complex and fragile ecosystems that face significant pressure from economic development. In East Java, these pressures are clearly visible. In Surabaya and Gresik, dealing with smog from vehicles and industry is a part of daily life. The Brantas River is heavily polluted from manufacturing and agricultural waste. Villagers too contribute to the problem, often failing to recognise that disposing of waste in the river conflicts with their need for clean water.

Australian aid supports East Java Provincial BAPEDAL, environment agency, and its district-level counterparts, to improve management the environment by addressing industrial and urban impacts on the environment and working more closely with communities. The project also aims to establish a coordinating point within government to address issues relating to natural resources and environmental protection in East Java.

An important aspect of this 5-year institutional strengthening project is its emphasis on raising public awareness of the short-term and long-term social and health benefits of better environmental management.

Community-learning projects are based in urban, rural and industrial areas looking at the different types of environmental hazards each of these areas are prone to. These projects address issues such as:

• Discharge of waste into streams and estuaries;
• Air pollution from industrial, domestic and motor vehicle emissions;
• Land degradation from mining, deforestation and wildfires;
• Over-exploitation of flora, fauna, minerals, water, coastal habitat and fertile soils.

The project commenced in August 2000 and builds on the successful Pollution Control Implementation project, which assisted with the establishment of the East Java BAPEDAL in 1997.

This page was last updated on 20 June 2003

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