Bruntland warns of pollution's pitfalls<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland
\nis urging Indonesia to avoid repeating the mistakes of developed
\ncountries in ignoring environmental conservation.<\/p>\n
\"It is we, in the West, who have developed at the expense of the
\nenvironment. We are stuck with the huge costs of cleaning up past
\nmistakes,\" Brundtland said yesterday, after signing the extension
\nof a 1990 Memorandum of Understanding on technical assistance.<\/p>\n
Developing countries, she said, should \"leap-frog past the
\nmost polluting stages of development\".<\/p>\n
Brundtland also opened a one-day seminar on environmental
\nmanagement and technology, which included the attendance of 27
\nNorwegian companies in that field.<\/p>\n
The Memorandum of Understanding signed yesterday, between
\nMinister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and Norwegian
\nAmbassador to Indonesia Jan Wessel Hegg, marked the third phase
\nof a bilateral agreement signed by the two countries in 1990.<\/p>\n
The first phase included coastal and marine biodiversity
\nmanagement and the second stage involved pollution control
\nprograms, namely seabed mapping and oil spill contingency
\nplanning.<\/p>\n
Under this umbrella agreement, three more Memorandum of
\nUnderstandings were signed between private Norwegian companies
\nand Indonesian government institutions.<\/p>\n
The first agreement, between The National Institute of
\nSciences and Norwegian company Oceanor, is a feasibility study
\nfor pollution elimination. The institute's chairman, Sofyan
\nTsauri, said the study in the Brantas river in East Java may
\ndevelop into a model for other rivers.<\/p>\n
The second Memorandum of Understanding is between Oceanor and
\nthe National Space and Aviation Agency on a wind-based
\nelectricity generating system for supplying electricity to rural
\nareas.<\/p>\n
The third agreement, between the Directorate General of Sea
\nTransportation and Norway's Det Norske Veritas, covers a master
\nplan study for safety in sea transportation and managing marine
\npollution.<\/p>\n
Brundtland pointed out that mutual interests of cooperation in
\nenvironment technology lie in the oil industry.<\/p>\n
Norway produces three million barrels of oil per day, Minister
\nof Mines and Energy, Jens Stoltenberg, said.<\/p>\n
He said for the last 25 years Norway has been able to carry
\nout a profitable oil business, with environmentally sound
\ntechnology.<\/p>\n
Brundtland said cooperation will also benefit Norway because
\nIndonesia \"will become a leading industrial nation in the time
\nspan of not much more than a generation\".<\/p>\n
Sarwono underlined Norway's genuine concern for environment
\nissues. He referred to Brundtland's chairmanship of the United
\nNations Commission, which produced a document on sustainable
\ndevelopment called Our Common Future. (anr)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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