Govt's environmental awareness is decreasing<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Despite official rhetoric, most government
\nofficials do not have sufficient knowledge or awareness of how to
\nprotect and preserve the environment, an environmental legal
\nexpert says.<\/p>\n
This poor environmental awareness is reflected in the sporadic
\nissuing of regulations and decisions which are not conducive to
\n\"sustainable development\" concepts, said Mas Achmad Santosa.<\/p>\n
The executive director of the Indonesian Center for
\nEnvironmental Law said many of the lingering environmental
\nproblems in Indonesia can be attributed directly to the poor
\nenvironmental consciousness of the officials, who misunderstood
\nthe sustainable development concepts.<\/p>\n
A survey by the Office of the State Minister of Population and
\nEnvironment and the Environmental Management Development in
\nIndonesia in 1991 found that many key decision makers believed
\nthat applying the sustainable development pattern would obstruct
\nthe economic growth, Santosa told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Things have hardly changed in the three years since the survey
\nresults were published, he said. Now, \"it's even worse.\"<\/p>\n
He pointed out that Bank Indonesia, the central bank, in 1989
\nand 1990 ordered commercial banks to take environmental aspects
\ninto account when approving loan applications. This requirement
\nwas waived in 1991.<\/p>\n
Many of the government's recent economic policies also show
\nlack of concern for the environment.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that decision to use some Rp 400 billion ($190
\nmillion) of reforestation funds for the development of the
\nnational aircraft industry reflects poor understanding of
\nsustainable development.<\/p>\n
Santosa also noted that misinterpretation of the sustainable
\ndevelopment concepts often result in conflicts of interest among
\ngovernment officials.<\/p>\n
He suggested restructuring government agencies that deal with
\nenvironmental protection, possibly giving them more authority to
\nensure proper enforcement.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja last month
\nblamed the courts for being too lenient in dealing with the few
\ncases of environmental violation which the government brought
\nbefore the court.<\/p>\n
Influence<\/p>\n
Santosa said that the state minister's influence only goes as
\nfar as issuing policies. Their implementation and supervision are
\nin the hands of local governments and sectoral institutions, such
\nas industry or mining offices, which often do not necessarily
\ngive priority to environmental concerns.<\/p>\n
He said these government agencies tend to tolerate polluting
\ncompanies and later make compromises in lieu of prosecution.<\/p>\n
One conflict of interest was brought to public attention last
\nweek when the ministry of agriculture disclosed that thousands of
\nhectares of shrimp ponds in Java have been heavily polluted by
\nindustrial waste. The pollution also jeopardized the health of
\nthe local people who use the water to wash and cook.<\/p>\n
Under the 1982 Environmental Law, a polluter is subject to a
\nmaximum 10 years in jail and Rp 100 million ($46,000).<\/p>\n
Since the law was enacted, only eight environmental cases have
\nbeen filed.<\/p>\n
Santosa commented that the enforcement of the environmental
\nlaws is affected by economic policy, which still allows collusion
\nbetween the political and economic powers.<\/p>\n
Many industrial companies in the country are owned either by
\nstate enterprises or by those politically connected to them.<\/p>\n
This, combined with the fact that the judicial authorities are
\nnot independent, has resulted in poor enforcement of
\nenvironmental law, according to Santosa.(sim)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govts-environmental-awareness-is-decreasing-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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