Collaborative Environmental Project in Indonesia

ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Composting of Urban Waste

• Collective Septic Tank System

• Cocoa, Sago and Rice Husk Waste for Mushroom Culture

• International Accreditation of Environmental Laboratories

• Community-Based Mangrove Rehabilitation

• Abatement of Mercury Pollution from Small Gold Mining

• More Summaries

Waste volume can be reduced through recovery programs that recognize certain wastes can be reused, and have economic value. Increasing the amount of urban waste that is composted will reduce demands on landfills and create local employment. The Research and Social Program (RESOPA) is demonstrating how composting of organic waste can assist in urban waste management of Makassar, South Sulawesi. Garbage collection and disposal services cannot cope with the growing amount of waste produced in the city. Compost is being promoted for sale to the community, highlighting the financial and environmental benefits of its use as an inexpensive soil conditioner and fertilizer.  RESOPA has successfully constructed a pilot scale composting facility at Hasanuddin University.  Makassar’s Sanitation Department has been delivering waste material to the facility where organic materials are separated for composting.  The compost is produced through a 4-stage process over a 40-day production cycle. The facility is now producing 7 tonnes of compost per production cycle.  RESOPA has successfully sold some production to local buyers, and interest has also been received for purchasing large quantities. Revenue has been reinvested to expand production and complete subtle improvements to the facility.   Production continues and marketing/sales plans are under development.  Results to date indicate that virtually all production can be sold and opportunities exist to either expand this facility or establish other composting facilities in the area.

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Lembaga Mitra Lingkungan (LML) is undertaking a project to demonstrate a simple collective septic tank system that can be installed and maintained by people living in poor communities. The project addresses the problem of human waste disposal and offers a viable and sustainable method for improving environmental quality in these areas. At the same time the demonstration will increase community awareness about waste management problems in their surrounding environment.  The system will reduce the use of traditional open toilets that dispose of human waste in nearby rivers.  The collective system can be installed and maintained by the community, and strengthens their sense of being a key participant in keeping their community clean. The demonstration project is located in the community of Cambaya, Ujung Pandang, which is a slum area of 308 low-income families. Currently, most human waste is disposed in a nearby river using traditional open toilets. Other uses of river water are being compromised, as well as the health of the community.  LML has established community working groups for each of the 10 potential sites where the collective septic tank systems are to be installed.  The working groups are participating in the design and ultimately the installation, operation and maintenance of the systems in their respective locations. Engineering designs for the 10 locations are completed.  Installation is proceeding in the first group of 5 sites.  Installations on the remaining five locations are subject to successful operation of the first group.  The demonstration is structured so the community can take an active role in maintaining and monitoring the system once it has been installed. LML will also display the system to local government and other communities interested in replicating the installation.

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Mr. Slamet Santosa and colleagues at Hasanuddin University, Makassar, are undertaking a project to demonstrate the use of cacao leaves, sago-starch waste and rice husks as a growing media to culture mushrooms. South Sulawesi has good potential to expand the production of cacao, sago and rice. However, the processing of these commodities produces waste products which accumulate in the local communities. Mushroom growing can be both a viable source of revenue for rural communities and a means to economically utilize agriculture wastes.  The demonstration involves introducing the growing system, training representatives of each community in building and operating the growing units, preparing the growing media for mushroom culture, culturing the mushrooms through to marketable size, and developing customers in the commercial centers around South Sulawesi.The first culture unit has been built and achieved success in growing mushrooms using the agro waste.  Three more units are being demonstrated in the communities of Sidrap, Polmas and Mamuju. In all cases mushrooms have been grown to market size in four weeks.  A marketing and sales strategy is currently being developed to realise revenue from the product via sales in local communities and other commercial centres in South Sulawesi.

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BAPEDAL and CEPI, in cooperation with Analytical Services Laboratory (ASL), Vancouver, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), are undertaking a project to implement  the detailed requirements for international accreditation of the aquatics laboratory at BAPEDAL’s Environmental Management Center (EMC), Serpong, and to strengthen its role as a national reference laboratory and accrediting body for environmental testing laboratories in Indonesia. Obtaining international accreditation requires comprehensive preparation with respect to management systems, quality systems, documentation, internal audits and record tracking. The project has established the operational procedures, which a laboratory requires to achieve international accreditation.  Proficiency testing was completed and EMC passed 15 parameters, which can now be attempted for accreditation.  Workshops on internal auditing to implement the necessary policy, procedures and checklists have been completed.  Next stages will be to finalise the quality manual and all other documentation, completion of an internal audit and submission of the application to KAN for the final audit and accreditation.  The latter, and completion of the demonstration, is scheduled for August 2000.

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Degradation of mangrove forests as a result of coastal aquaculture development and urban encroachment has lead to serious coastal erosion problems in South Sulawesi. This project is intended to reduce the rate of coastal erosion at Siwa, Kabupaten Wajo (estimated at 30 meters per year) and to re-establish the green belt. The project is being implemented by the Marine & Coastal Management Working Group (MCMWG) at BAPEDAL Wilayah III, Makassar, and is using a community-based, risk-sharing approach which involves local government agencies, NGOs, and the community. Wave reduction devices constructed from bamboo poles are being built by the community, with technical assistance and financial support from CEPI, in order to reduce wave energy, promote sediment redeposition along the coast, and protect the newly-planted mangrove seedlings.

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Mercury contamination of the environment occurs from small-scale, and often illegal, mining operations during the extraction and processing of gold amalgam. Human health risks have been created by direct consumption and inhalation of mercury during its handling and processing; as well as indirectly from food organisms through their bioaccumulation and biomagnification of mercury released to the environment. Preliminary studies in North Sulawesi have found mercury levels of 7 to 15 ppm in sediment of the Bolomondu River at Ratatotok (compared to a WHO safety standard of 2 ppm), and 20% of fish sampled in the local market were contaminated with mercury. The project is being implemented by the Mining Degradation Working Group (MDWG) at BAPEDAL Wilayah III, Makassar, in cooperation with local government agencies and an NGO, in order to demonstrate a model mercury hazard awareness program at two mining centers in North Sulawesi, Ratatotok and Tatelu, and to introduce an inexpensive retort apparatus which will recover mercury normally released to the atmosphere during roasting of the amalgam to recover the gold bullion.

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