Cluster Based Classification of River Water Pollution Using K-Means for Policy Intervention and Environmental Justice in Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

The lack of technical parameters for water pollution clustering exacerbates the fragmentation of authority, weak supervision, and disharmony between regions, making it necessary to normalize classifications in technical regulations to ensure standardization and adequate ecology. This research aims to develop a policy design for classifying river water pollution in accordance with environmental justice theory. This type of research employs empirical legal research approach with a statistical focus on environmental regulations, utilizing case studies from several cities/districts in Indonesia and Central Java Province as samples for factual analysis. This research shows, first, that the issue of river pollution in Indonesia reveals a weak effectiveness of regulations and governance, thereby urging the implementation of an environmental justice framework based on polluter clustering according to regional typology characteristics. Second, the clustering results obtained using the K-Means method are divided into three clusters: Cluster 0, Cluster 1, and Cluster 2. Third, this research recommends the design of a river pollution classification policy based on environmental justice theory, which demands the normative standardization of pollution clusters in the Regulation of the Minister of Environment and Forestry, in order to create a formal legal instrument.