Comparing environmental policy: Observational case of government website of Surakarta, Indonesia and Pingtung, Taiwan

Environmental policy practices in various countries and governments certainly differ, as one country may prioritize it, while others do not. Several factors including economic welfare, the human development index, and even the awareness of sustainable development may contribute to the variation. Comparing government performance in utilizing technological development and the internet is significant to assess the government’s performance in ensuring environmental sustainability and the establishment of smart governance at the same time. This paper discusses how the websites of local governments can be used to socialize and apply the environmental policy in Surakarta, Indonesia, and Pingtung, Taiwan. The two cities are chosen because of their contrasting condition where the prior has a limited but growing awareness of environmental policy, and the latter has already established systematic environmental policy planning and application. This research focuses on the observational analysis of the websites and will be supported by a literature study that is available on the Internet using search engines. The projected results showed the difference between both cities in actuating their environmental policies through websites and the factors that may cause it. Further findings can be found in the article.