VZCZCXRO3414
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0027/01 0780456
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190456Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0383
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0368
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0158
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0182
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0389

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SURABAYA 000027 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAID ECON PGOV ID
SUBJECT: SURABAYA RIVER POLLUTION LEADS ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS 
 
SURABAYA 00000027  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
This Message is Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please Protect 
Accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Surabaya City faces immense challenges to its 
water supply: pollution, seawater intrusion, and dwindling 
ground water.   The Surabaya River, which provides 90% of the 
city's tap water, is being overwhelmed with industrial waste. 
Enforcement of environmental regulations has been ineffective 
and companies prefer to pay minimal fines rather than invest in 
costly treatment facilities.  Meanwhile, industrial demand has 
lowered ground water levels and the destruction of protective 
mangrove trees along the coast has increased seawater intrusion. 
 Surabaya's Planning and Development Board and local NGOs are 
looking for opportunities to increase environmental awareness, 
mitigate environmental damage, and protect Surabaya's vital 
water resources. Ironically, although the city and the region's 
largest media conglomerate Jawa Pos are the loudest voices 
advocating environmental awareness, companies owned by both are 
some of the largest contributors to river pollution.  USAID's 
Environmental Services Program (ESP) is focused on improving 
water quality.  End Summary. 
 
Green and Clean, Except for the Water 
 
¶2. (SBU) Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, is proud of 
its "green and clean" initiative, which transformed the city's 
disused parks and urban areas into inviting public spaces and 
won kudos from the media and environmental organizations.  In 
contrast, unchecked river pollution, seawater intrusion, and 
dwindling ground water threaten to create a water crisis. 
According to Tri Rismaharini, Head of Surabaya's Planning and 
Development Board and the architect of the city's green urban 
renewal, Surabaya's water supply situation will become critical 
over the next five years.  She added that Surabaya cannot depend 
on the provincial government to resolve the situation.  The city 
has already built several small dams in western Surabaya to 
retain rain water for use during the dry season. 
 
¶3. (SBU) NGO representatives and Tri Rismaharini agree that 
Surabaya's most daunting environmental problem is pollution in 
the Surabaya River.  The Surabaya River provides 90% of the tap 
water for 3 million residents, yet the river is being 
overwhelmed with industrial waste.   More than 75 tons of waste 
is dumped into the river every day, although experts suggest the 
river can absorb no more than 35 tons of waste per day. 
Approximately 85% of the waste comes from industries located 
near the river; 90% of this waste comes from the local paper 
industry. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Four paper companies located in Surabaya and nearby 
Gresik -- PT Mekabox, PT Suprama, PT Surabaya Agung Kertas, and 
PT Adiprima Sura Printa -- have received low rankings from the 
Department of the Environment and are considered the primary 
contributors of river pollution.  Dahlan Iskan, the CEO of media 
giant Jawa Pos Group and owner of PT Adiprima Sura Printa, has 
pledged Rp 2 billion (USD 166 thousand) to build a waste 
treatment facility for his factory.  Unfortunately, that sum 
won't cover the costs.  Tri Rismaharini has proposed the city 
build a joint waste pipeline/treatment facility that would allow 
multiple factories to share the cost of waste treatment and 
reduce river pollutants. 
 
Few Penalties for Polluting 
 
¶5. (SBU) In general, local industries are unwilling to invest in 
costly waste treatment facilities or to maintain existing 
facilities as the fines for violating environmental regulations 
are minimal.  The highest penalty imposed to date for water 
pollution in Surabaya is Rp 5 million (USD 415).  In late 
January 2009, joint water patrols between the Surabaya police, 
East Java Trade Department, the water company, and local NGOs 
discovered that the Surabaya Slaughter House (owned by the city 
of Surabaya) was dumping raw waste into the river after its 
waste treatment facility broke down.  No charges have yet been 
filed.  Reporting environmental crime doesn't pay.  In nearby 
Mojokerto regency, the man who accused a local company of 
polluting the river was convicted of ruining the company's "good 
name" and sentenced to six months in jail.  In other cases, NGOs 
complain that many cases of environmental crimes are closed 
after the company pays a "fine" to the police. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The former Governor of East Java ordered a number of 
companies to stop releasing waste into the river after receiving 
reports of untreated waste being dumped.  Under provincial 
regulation #2/2008, the environmental protection agency at the 
regency/city level, rather than the provincial level, has the 
 
SURABAYA 00000027  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
authority to issue liquid waste disposal permits and the 
authority to close a factory's outlet to the river if it is 
found to be polluting the river. Unfortunately, local 
governments do not have the infrastructure or personnel to 
monitor or evaluate compliance. 
 
National Strategic River 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Indonesian government recently declared the 
Surabaya River a "National Strategic River," meaning that the 
Ministry of Public Work has the sole authority to utilize, 
maintain, and manage the river.  As a result, only the Minister 
of Public Work, not local or provincial officials, has the 
authority to regulate building along the river or approve 
development plans involving the river.  The city blames 
uncoordinated industrial development in nearby Sidoarjo and 
Gresik for many of Surabaya's water problems.  City officials 
and NGOs fear that the Ministry's involvement will complicate 
efforts to reduce pollution and increase water supplies. 
 
Mangroves, Education, and Environmental Awareness 
 
¶8. (SBU) Low-lying Surabaya is threatened by rising sea levels, 
a situation exacerbated by the destruction of protective 
mangroves along the coast line.  Local residents cut down the 
mangroves to make room for fish ponds and other aquaculture. 
The Surabaya city government is planning to develop a 1,600 
hectare mangrove forest tourism area in eastern Surabaya as part 
of a wide-ranging effort to strengthen Surabaya's natural 
defenses.   This particular area is reportedly home to a wide 
variety of mangrove and bird species whose habitat is threatened. 
 
¶9. (SBU) In Surabaya, USAID's ESP works on increasing access to 
clean water for low income families, improving the energy 
efficiency of the water utilities, as well as community-based 
solid waste management, city sanitation action planning to 
generate wastewater solutions, and changes in health and hygiene 
behavior.  City officials and NGO reps are working on plans to 
increase environmental awareness in schools and communities. 
The Surabaya PKK, a community women's organization, has more 
than 30,000 environmental cadres working on environmental and 
health issues.  One of PKK's programs is to encourage urban 
farming and composting.  With the support of PKK, the city 
reduced the volume of garbage by 10% each year. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Tunas Hijau, a local environmental NGO, is working 
with schools in Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Gresik and Malang to promote 
environmental awareness among children.  The Regent of Gresik 
issued a decree requiring schools to include environmental 
awareness as part of the school's curriculum.  Tunas Hijau is 
planning to host a "Surabaya Climate Challenge" for junior and 
senior high school students focused on garbage management, tree 
planting, energy saving, and environmentally friendly 
transportation. 
MCCLELLAND