TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Arif Havas, Deputy I of Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs said that plastic wastes are affecting three main factors of marine issues, namely the ocean ecosystem, sustainable fishery and the environment in general.
"We are preparing a national initiative on the issue and a joint discussion with the World Bank to make budgeting intervention," Havas told Tempo at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs Office in Jakarta on Monday, February 6, 2017.
According to Havas, the planned national initiative will start this year and will involve ministries, agencies and local governments. Fifteen city administrations will engage in addressing plastic wastes, including in Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Semarang, Medan and Batam. Havas explained that studies are underway in the cities to tackle plastic wastes problem.
Ministries and state agencies that will be involved in the initiative are the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, the Environment and Forestry Ministry, the Marine Affairs and Fishery Ministry, Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and the Education and Culture Ministry, among others.
Among possible solutions to address the issue is by implementing waste-to-energy scheme, which could turn wastes into usable energy.
Moreover, Havas said that the ministry would cooperate with other countries facing the same problem, including Denmark, Australia, the Netherlands and the United States "to exchange information on ways to solve the problem."
Widi A. Pratikno, Executive Director of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF), said that there has not been enough emphasis is placed on marine plastic pollution, adding that in-depth discussion on the issue would be needed.
DIKO OKTARA