Cash crisis 'lax' on environment<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Reuters): The world financial crisis that has
\ngutted the economies of countries such as Indonesia, Russia and
\nBrazil is also hurting their environment, an environmental
\nadvocacy group said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Friends of the Earth said the fallout from the crisis has led
\nto lax environmental policies, increased logging and other
\nharmful practices.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, where slow growth and high inflation has led to
\na 15 percent drop in industrial production, pollution actually
\nrose by 18 percent despite the closing of many factories that
\nproduce waste, the group said.<\/p>\n
Matthew Siegel, an international policy consultant for Friends
\nof the Earth, said this rise occurred because the government
\ncould not afford to spend resources on cracking down on companies
\nthat did not properly dispose of their waste.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government also lifted a log export ban and cut
\nthe log export tax in order to generate revenues, leading to
\nincreased logging.<\/p>\n
In Russia, the cash crisis has forced the Russian government
\nto consider cutting trees in Siberia, which had previously been
\nconsidered too remote to profit from.<\/p>\n
Friends of the Earth said Brazil cut its spending on
\nenvironmental programs by two-thirds in order to meet targets
\nlaid out in its loan repayment plan with the International
\nMonetary Fund.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cash-crisis-lax-on-environment-1447893297",
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