Environment Day<\/p>\n
In your editorial of June 5, 2003, you raised the question of
\nwhether there is anything to justify celebrations, when all
\naround us we see rapid environmental degradation. Ironically, in
\nthe same paper the state minister for the environment admits to
\n\"not having a clue about how to handle illegal logging\". Other
\narticles point to the close links between water resources,
\nenvironmental degradation and poverty alleviation and Indonesian
\nperceptions about the U.S. and Americans.<\/p>\n
As you have pointed out, Indonesia is one of the first
\ndeveloping countries to have enacted legislation in response to
\nenvironmental concerns. Prof. Dr. Emil Salim, the architect of
\nthe early legislation and one of the \"Berkeley Mafia\", is said to
\nhave exclaimed at the Bali summit, \"What do we do about the
\nAmericans?\"<\/p>\n
The current state minister for the environment has asked
\npeople to suggest fresh and concrete measures on the grounds that
\nthe political will is already high. However in the next breath,
\nhe admits to a lack of coordination among different agencies.<\/p>\n
Commercially minded businesspeople are generally uninterested
\nin the political issues which often result in much talk about
\ngood governance, war and destruction. The government has to take
\nnote of the fact that integrated actions relating to the
\nenvironment in general, and forests and water resources in
\nparticular, can proceed only when the political will is
\nconsolidated as a joint statement by sectoral agencies at the
\ncenter and the provinces for specific river basins, large and
\nsmall.<\/p>\n
There are, no doubt, many purely business-oriented entities
\nincluding those from the U.S. (consultants, contractors and
\ninvestment companies) who have the expertise and the willingness
\nto act on solutions which will benefit themselves and the poor
\ncommunities which live in and around the rapidly diminishing
\nforests. They will enter the fray when they see strong commitment
\nto tackle the main concerns, such as environmental conservation
\nand poverty alleviation, in an integrated and economically and
\nfinancially efficient manner.<\/p>\n
VIVEKANANTHAN, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/environment-day-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }