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The Government of Jakarta, the Head of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Force, the Head of the Jakarta Office of the High Public Prosecutors, and the Head of the Java Regional Environmental Management Center have issued a Joint Regulation (Regulation) numbered Regulation No. 101 of 2007, Regulation No. B/5576/VII/2007/Datro, Regulation No. B - 3845/0.1/GP/06/2007, and Regulation No. Kep - 41B/PPLH-Reg.4/06/2007, respectively. The purpose of the Regulation is to clearly ensure that there is some degree of responsibility taken for the pollution and destruction of the air and water in Jakarta.

In an admission to the obvious for anyone that walks the streets of Jakarta or takes the time to look up at the ever-present haze enshrouding the city, the Government of Jakarta has issued a Regulation that is determined to address the worsening pollution problem. The Considerations that lead off all Indonesian laws and regulations both at the central and regional government levels in this case explicitly states that pollution has reached a level that is causing environmental damage and endangering the health of Jakarta's citizens. Emission tests and maintenance was previously regulated in Regulation No. 95 of 2000 and this is clearly no longer able to address the emission pollution issues of 2007.

The State Minister of the Environment has issued Regulation No. 07 of 2007 with a view to eliminating environmental pollution that may potentially arise from industries that use heated vessels in the production processes crude palm oil and kernel separation. The Regulation expressly regulates the use of heated vessels that are heated with bio-fuels, fossil fuels, and other organic fuels.

The Coastal Management Bill (see ILB No. 601 6/6/2007) has been passed by the House of Representatives (DPR) in the Plenary Session of 26 June 2007. The need for a law that has been drafted specifically to protect, conserve, and development Indonesia's vast coastal resources has become increasing important as there has been a realization that the economic potential of the coastal resources is equally as vast.

In an effort to reduce the potential for waste water pollution of the environment that is likely to cause considerable damage to the environment the State Minister of the Environment has issued Regulation No. 4 of 2007. This Regulation includes 5 Attachments that stipulate the maximum levels of chemicals and other pollutants as well as the mechanism for measuring them.

As an archipelago State it is surprising that Indonesia has never had specific legislation in place to manage such a vast and potentially long-term sustainable economic resource. The basic numbers here of 17,504 islands and more than 81,000 km of coastline serve to highlight the huge economic potential of proper and effective coastal management. The current legislative framework sees Indonesia's vast coastal resources fall under Law No. 84 of 1992 on Spatial Planning.

Although Indonesia has signed and ratified the Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances the reality has also been that small scale local industries have continued to utilize these substances in the refrigeration and foam production processes as a cost reducing mechanism.