Antara, Jakarta – The Jakarta Maritime Affairs Agency assessed that the piles of garbage covering Muara Angke Mangrove Forest in Penjaringan, North Jakarta originated from neighboring regions. "[The waste is] washed away by the current," the agency head Suharini Eliawati said on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.

The statement was issued in response to a viral Instagram video posted by @lensa_berita_jakarta on Monday, July 10, that one of the mangrove forest edges was buried in trash.

Suharini explained that the forest area is divided into several areas managed by different institutions or agencies, namely the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), the Environment and Forestry Ministry (KLHK), the Jakarta City Parks and Forest Agency, and the Jakarta Maritime Affairs, Agriculture, and Food Security Agency.

"Regarding waste from Muara Angke Port, the port management in tandem with the Environment Agency conduct waste management periodically," she added.

Suharini, therefore, underlined the synergy of related parties as forest managers to accelerate waste handling.

Last month, she recalled that the agency launched beach and sea clean-up activities in the Thousand Islands Regency by involving relevant stakeholders and students. "That coincided with the Coral Triangle Day and the Jakarta Anniversary. This activity needs to be carried out on an ongoing basis and becomes an environmental care movement," Suharini said.

Previously, a marine pollution researcher from the Oceanographic Research Center of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Reza Cordova, called on stakeholders to clean waste from rivers and seas before accumulated in Muara Angke Mangrove Forest.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1747648/waste-piled-in-muara-angke-coming-from-other-regions-jakarta-gov