Corruption has contributed to flooding<\/p>\n
This year we have still to see the worst of the floods. Former
\nstate minister for the environment and professor in business
\nethics Sonny Keraf, who served in the Cabinet of former president
\nAbdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid, shares his views on environmental
\npolicy with The Jakarta Post contributor Dwi Iswandono.<\/p>\n
Question: What is your comment on the recent floods?<\/p>\n
Answer: The floods have been caused by human behavior. The root
\nof this disaster is morality, as displayed in the form of bad
\npractice in government, private enterprise and society. Such
\nactions have ignored all the regulations we made to safeguard the
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
Violated regulations particularly relate to permits -- which
\nhas resulted in illegal logging. As far as I know the issue (of
\nillegal logging) was highlighted three times in Cabinet meetings
\n(under Gus Dur) and once within the office of the coordinating
\nminister for security and political affairs, given the wide
\nextent of the problem -- affecting legal, security and political
\nmatters.<\/p>\n
Another root of the disaster is corruption, related to members
\nof the military (TNI) and the police. I assume the corruptors
\nfelt secure due to military backup. At that time, the
\nperpetrators continued to reap benefits from those practices.<\/p>\n
As long as the TNI and police leadership do not take any
\nserious action with their members, the disasters will continue.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you see other causes of the floods?<\/p>\n
A: A third factor is foreign debt, which has also played a
\nsignificant role in deforestation and environmental destruction.
\nForeign debts eventually became a heavy responsibility, which
\ncompelled us to take short cuts to be able to pay debts and
\ninterest by exploiting natural resources -- our forests and mines
\nbordering forest areas. Hence floods and landslides have
\ncontinued to occur.<\/p>\n
The licensing of Pantai Indah Kapuk, a luxury housing
\ndevelopment scheme on Jakarta north's coast, which has caused
\nflooding annually, is another striking example of abuse of power.<\/p>\n
Despite continual denials from the Jakarta municipality, I
\nagree with the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): The floods
\nthat afflicted thousands of residents living along the toll road
\nto Soekarno-Hatta International Airport were closely linked to
\nthe project.<\/p>\n
The floods were not natural disasters, but manmade ones. It's
\nthe inevitable consequence of our mistakes in handling nature,
\nespecially forests. It is, quite simply, bad governance.<\/p>\n
Q: How would you evaluate the government?<\/p>\n
A: There are some opportunities. I see that Pak (Muhammad)
\nPrakosa (Minister of Forestry) has taken some positive measures.
\nWe need to wait for his consistency in coordinating cooperation
\nbetween the parties responsible for environmental maintenance,
\nespecially via the office of the coordinating minister for
\nsecurity and political affairs. Resolute steps are required to
\npunish perpetrators of mass deforestation or illegal logging. So,
\nhe needs support from the President and the coordinating minister
\n(Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono).<\/p>\n
As acknowledged by legislators, the \"mafia\" in this area is
\nvery hard to eradicate.<\/p>\n
One positive step that Prakosa has made has been to implement
\n\"corrections\" within his own ministry. But again it will only be
\nsuccessful if other parties are also equally committed and
\nconsistent. It's not that easy as the style of government, both
\nunder President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Gus Dur, has not yet
\nchanged. Its moral commitment toward law enforcement is so weak
\nthat it has become the main obstacle to punishing the
\nperpetrators.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement is in the hands of the judiciary and the
\npolice, not Prakosa or the state minister for the environment
\n(Nabiel Makarim).<\/p>\n
Q: What other opportunities are there to act on environmental
\ndestruction?<\/p>\n
A: Another opportunity is regional autonomy. Despite problems,
\nthe district courts will gain enough autonomy to make
\nbreakthroughs, with a higher moral commitment toward handling
\nsuch cases. An example is the Bangkinang district court in Riau
\nprovince, which succeeded in sentencing the guilty party in the
\ncase of the forest fires that occurred in September last year.<\/p>\n
This was a result of our efforts in working with the district
\ncourts in the regions so that they would have the moral courage
\nto punish guilty parties.<\/p>\n
So, despite so many problems in the face of slow bureaucratic
\nreform there is a chance of a breakthrough. The efforts of the
\nministry of forestry and the state minister for the environment
\nmust continue, to encourage regional officials in their tasks.<\/p>\n
Therefore, by the time the handling of such cases is no longer
\nunder the authority of the central government, the district and
\nhigh courts will have acquired much more courage.<\/p>\n
Q: The NGOs that have worked within the environment during all these
\nyears still seem to be ineffective. Your comment?<\/p>\n
A: This is because the government's paradigm has not changed. The
\ngovernment claims it is the most knowledgeable agent in reaching
\ndecisions. The NGOs simply shout without being able to influence
\npublic policy -- and the result is that all government policies
\ntend to prioritize economic considerations. Not that I'm against
\ndevelopment, but if environmental protection is not part of those
\npolicies we'll always get the same (environmentally damaging)
\nresults.<\/p>\n
The Gus Dur government continued to follow a proindustry
\napproach. Investment was always the higher priority. It therefore
\naccommodated private parties that damaged the environment and
\nignored the aspirations of society at large.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/corruption-has-contributed-to-flooding-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}