[sustran] Re: Indonesian Car Free Day

[SUSTRAN Network Secretariat]

I think there is some confusion in Jakarta over whether the ban is to
include all motor vehicles or just private motor vehicles. I hope we can
help sort this out in time.  As we know, the Car Free Day should mean a day
without private vehicles.  Public transport vehicles should be encouraged!

Paul
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[Jakarta Post, 24/03/2000]

Refrain from driving on Earth Day: Government
JAKARTA (JP): A senior government official has suggested that Indonesians
limit the use of their cars and motorbikes for one day on April 23 to
commemorate Earth Day and raise environmental awareness. 

The date was chosen primarily because it is a Sunday, which means that traffic
is usually lighter than on weekdays. 

Earth Day itself falls on April 22. 

The plan is part of a series of programs organized by the office of the State
Minister and nongovernmental organizations to raise environmental awareness. 

"Many (exhaust gas) emissions from vehicles in the city exceed tolerable
limits,
which contributes to the low air quality," Aca Sugandhy, the state minister of
environment's assistant for environmental management said while unveiling the
proposal. 

He said there would be an air quality check before and after the date to
see if
the program had made a difference to current conditions. 

"If the quality of the air improves, we will consider continuing the
program to
reduce the use of motor vehicles," he added. 

But the move appears to be nothing more than a symbolic gesture; Aca failed
to elaborate on how Indonesians were to cope with their daily lives if they
did
not use motor vehicles. 

He did not say whether there would be any incentive for people not to use
their
cars or motorbikes, or whether there would be an alternative mode of
transportation available for those who needed to commute. 

Public transportation drivers in particular scoffed at the idea. 

Several public minivan drivers said the proposal was silly and impossible to
carry out. 

"I won't do it," Ai, 39, a driver based in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, told
The Jakarta Post. 

"It's impossible not to operate public transport. How will people go
places?" he
remarked. 

"But it may be possible for private cars. Rich families have three or four
cars
and all of them are on the road everyday," he added. 

Earth Day was first held in 1970 in the United States under the initiative of
U.S. senator Gaylord Nelson. It is aimed at reminding people of the need to
preserve the Earth. 

Hira Jhamtani, an environment expert from the National Consortium for Forest
and Nature Conservation in Indonesia (Konphalindo), told the Post she fully
supported the idea as a means of raising awareness. 

While conceding that the immediate impact of such a move might well be
marginal, she said, however, it allowed each individual to make a personal
contribution to the environment. 

"Earth Day is meant as a reminder that everybody should do something," Hira
said. "Nothing is too small to preserve the earth," she said. 

Other plans for Earth Day include a campaign to substitute the ozone depleting
CFCs (chlorofluorocarbon) with safer substances such as hydrocarbons
(HC). 

CFCs are compounds consisting of chlorine, fluorine, and carbon and are
commonly used as coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners, and as
propellants in aerosol sprays. 

Aca also said the government would run a campaign against tortoise
exploitation. He lamented that despite efforts to conserve tortoises,
Indonesia
still allows their export. 

"Our language of agreement is often not the same as the reality," he remarked.
(08)
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Distributed for the purpose of education and research.

A. Rahman Paul BARTER
Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia
and the Pacific (the SUSTRAN Network)
P.O. Box 11501, Kuala Lumpur 50748, Malaysia.
E-mail: sustran at po.jaring.my
URL: http://www.malaysiakini.com/sustran

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