Government's ignorance of regional haze problem<\/p>\n
The former administration became miffed when neighboring
\ncountries complained about the haze caused by fires in Indonesia,
\nand the current administration is no better, writes regional
\nanalyst Rizal Sukma, director of studies at the Centre for
\nStrategic International Studies in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is really unfortunate. While the
\nrepublic's international image has been seriously undermined by
\nstalled democratization, an endless power struggle and protracted
\nethnic and religious conflicts, that image is now being further
\ndamaged by the return of the haze.<\/p>\n
Coverage of the issue in the Indonesian media gives the
\nimpression that the problem is Indonesia's alone. Yet as the
\nsmoke from forest fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra spreads and
\nenvelopes Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand, one cannot
\nfail to notice that the problem is far from an internal matter.<\/p>\n
Repeated occurrences of haze in Indonesia pose a serious
\nsecurity problem to the region, albeit in the nontraditional
\nsense. During similar incidents in 1997 and 1998, it was
\nestimated that the region, especially the affected countries,
\nsuffered economic losses of about US$9.3 billion.<\/p>\n
Simon Tay, an expert from Singapore, put the number as high as
\n$20 billion. He recently wrote in The Strait Times daily that the
\nhaze in 1997 and 1998 affected between 20 million and 70 million
\npeople and caused considerable health problems, particularly
\nrespiratory related diseases.<\/p>\n
The relevance and severity of this type of threat to regional
\nsecurity -- especially in terms of its harm to people's well-
\nbeing, or human security -- is clearly evident when one considers
\nthe fact that the problem of haze is not new to the region.<\/p>\n
Indeed, it is not new at all to the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN). There have been several efforts by ASEAN
\nto address this issue. The association acknowledged the need to
\ncooperate on the issue of transboundary pollution as early as
\n1990, when it adopted the Kuala Lumpur Accord on Environment and
\nDevelopment on June 19 of that year.<\/p>\n
The 4th ASEAN Summit in January 1992 also urged member
\ncountries to continue to enhance environmental cooperation,
\nparticularly on the issue of transboundary pollution and forest
\nfires.<\/p>\n
In October 1994, during an informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
\non the Environment, member countries also agreed to improve this
\ncooperation, develop an early warning and response system and to
\nimprove the capacity of member countries to deal with the
\nproblem. In June 1995, ASEAN agreed to adopt its Cooperation Plan
\non Transboundary Pollution, which outlined concrete measures and
\nactivities to be taken by individual countries. In December 1997,
\nthere was even a special ministerial meeting which produced the
\nregional Haze Action Plan.<\/p>\n
Yet forest fires and the havoc they create continue to haunt
\nthe region. All the agreements reached have proven ineffective in
\npreventing the problem. And here in Indonesia, there is a serious
\nproblem in recognizing the magnitude of the haze issue as a
\nregional security problem.<\/p>\n
The government of former president B.J. Habibie was clearly
\nannoyed when its neighbors raised the issue. Responding to
\ncomplaints about the haze by Singapore, a minister close to
\nHabibie said: "Singapore has also been enjoying the emission of
\noxygen from Indonesian forests."<\/p>\n
Under President Abdurrahman Wahid, the problem is no less
\nserious. State Minister of Forestry Marzuki Usman simply stated
\nthat "we don't have a clear blueprint of how to cope with the
\nproblem. We will start to prepare it".<\/p>\n
For our neighbors, such an honest statement might raise
\nserious questions regarding our commitment to combating the
\nproblem, especially when the return of the haze was predicted in
\na meeting of ASEAN environmental ministers in Phnom Penh in May
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
It is indeed difficult to disagree with Tay, who wrote in the
\nabove daily: "The laws and administration at the center of the
\ncountry, Indonesia, are unable to effectively address the issue."<\/p>\n
However, this unfortunate situation cannot be separated from
\nIndonesia's larger problem of the reduced capacity of the state,
\nboth in economic and political terms.<\/p>\n
As Indonesia continues to be preoccupied with serious domestic
\nproblems, it is likely that this sort of nonconventional security
\nproblem will continue to be a source of trouble for regional
\nsecurity. Political problems are clearly pushing concerns over
\nenvironmental issues even lower down the national agenda. The
\nmarginalization of such issues clearly poses a security problem
\nfor our neighbors, especially Malaysia and Singapore.<\/p>\n
One cannot but continue to warn the government that serious
\nattention must be paid to growing environmental problems such as
\nthe fires. There is also the need for concerted action among
\nASEAN member states to tell the Indonesian government (again)
\nthat the problems are not Indonesia's alone.<\/p>\n
However, criticizing and calling on Indonesia to simply fight
\nthe problem will not result in a positive response. Serious
\nattention by other ASEAN states should also be given in concrete
\nforms of assistance. And Indonesia should not see its neighbors'
\ncomplaints as a form of interference. It should see them as the
\nlegitimate concerns of friends who not only also suffer from the
\nproblem, but also expect greater "sympathy" in the form of
\nconcrete action.<\/p>\n
If Jakarta does not respond adequately to such concerns,
\nIndonesia's image will only worsen.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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