French Aid Dredge Ship Progress, Maluku DLH Says Stillrakit Arriving In Ambon Maximum July

The Maluku Provincial Environmental Service official explained about the assistance of garbage trucks from France at Commission II of the Maluku DPRD, in Ambon City, Tuesday (27/2/2024). BETWEEN/Daniel Leonard

MALUKU - Acting Secretary of the Maluku Environment Agency (DLH) Rusdi Mewal said the French aid marine debris ship is currently still in the process of being assembly and is scheduled for the middle of this year to arrive in Ambon City.

"The Maluku DLH has received the support of ships carrying marine debris from France, but currently it is still being assembled," Rusdi said in a hearing with Commission II of the Maluku DPRD in Ambon, Tuesday, February 27, which was confiscated by Antara.

According to Rusdi, it is scheduled that between June-July this year the seafill ship will arrive in Ambon City.

However, the presence of the ship cannot be said to solve the problem of garbage at sea considering the production of Maluku waste is around 300,000 tons annually, while Ambon City alone is around 200 tons per day, requiring equipment that is not just one ship.

"If through the support of Commission II of the Maluku DPRD, it is proposed to add one more ship to transport garbage at sea from the government, because there has been a proposal for one ship since last year but it has not been realized," he said.

Then DLH Maluku also has three marine debris catchers in Wai Batutupan, Wai Hoku and Way Batumerah who have not been able to function properly considering that their facilities and infrastructure have not yet supported them to bring marine debris to land.

"So through this proposal, we convey how many supporting facilities are needed to improve the operation of the sea waste catcher in question," said Rusdi.

The Maluku DLH also needs a three-wheeled vehicle that can be used to enter residential halls to transport garbage.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Commission II of the Maluku DPRD Johan John Lewerissa said this explanation had been submitted to the commission several times, including when carrying out an agenda for conveying aspirations in 2023 in Jakarta.

"The environmental issue is indeed the responsibility of all of us, and including the procurement of garbage trucks, I have also conveyed to the Ministry of Environment," he said.

However, the answer from the Ministry of Environment is that the ship procurement budget is not with them but at the Indonesian Ministry of Finance.

The working meeting was chaired by the Chairman of Commission II of the Maluku DPRD Johan John Lewerissa to capture the aspirations of the relevant agencies/agencies who are commission partners in implementing the agenda of conveying aspirations to the government.