Program-Based Pollution Control Management: The Indonesian Prokasih Program

Abstract

In 1989, Indonesia's Minister for Population and the Environment introduced its Clean River Program (PROKASIH). The program's purpose is to improve water quality by reducing pollution emmissions. Though participation is not entirely voluntary, compliance with the terms of the agreement signed by the plants is not legally binding. Both total biological oxygen demand (BOD) discharges and pollution intensity from PROKASIH plants fell significantly during the period analyzed. However, plant performance varied widely and the overall improvement was achieved through the efforts of a few plants. The program has identified the plants' willingness to practice pollution control. This should prove useful in the allocation of monitoring resources. It is clear that regulators must establish a system for pollution control that reliably analyzes environmental performance. Regulators must confront such issues as self-reporting, information, inspections, compliance assessment, and others. A program-based approach can bring about reliable compliance management and provide the foundation of a river basin environmental management system.