The city of Bandung received an award for having the cleanest air among other major cities in Asean in the 4th Asean Environmentally Sustainable City Award ceremony in Brunei on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
“Praise be to God, Bandung has won the award as a metropolitan city with the cleanest air in the region,” Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil said on Wednesday, Sept. 13, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
Based on Asean’s assessment, Bandung has made sustainable efforts to improve the city’s environment, particularly the quality of its air. Among the programs carried out by the city are establishing a special team to control air pollution, running public campaigns on air quality management and putting cars in the city through strict vehicle emissions tests.
Many of these programs have been introduced under the leadership of Kamil, who has also installed air pollution sensors at 27 spots in the city and launched a weekly ‘Car Free Day’ every Sunday in the city center.
Bandung, capital of West Java province and Indonesia’s fourth biggest city, also won an award from the Forestry and Environment Minister in 2015 as the least polluted city in the country, thanks to Kamil’s initiatives.
“Let’s give thanks to those who always try to keep Bandung clean, especially its precious air,” he said.
Other than Bandung, three other Indonesian cities – Makassar, Malang and Tulungagung – also received the Clean Land, Clean Water and Environmentally Sustainable City awards, respectively.