More environment consultants needed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs more professional consultants to
\nhandle environmental impact analyses in support of sustainable
\ndevelopment efforts, a cabinet minister said yesterday.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja emphasized
\nthat only \"good and reliable\" Environmental Impact Analysis
\n(Amdal) consultants can help ensure development without degrading
\nthe environment.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the opening of a workshop on environment, Sarwono
\nsaid truly good and reliable Amdal consultants are now harder to
\nfind.<\/p>\n
Amdal is a mandatory prerequisite for developers to ensure
\nthat development projects will not have a damaging effect on the
\nsurrounding environment.<\/p>\n
Sarwono pointed out that many companies considered Amdal only
\na formality in obtaining government endorsement for a project.<\/p>\n
\"It is generally assumed that environmental management is an
\nadditional burden to total costs. But actually environmentally-
\noriented programs, such as going by a 'clean production' concept,
\ncan cut down the resource-spending of the production process,\" he
\nsaid without elaborating the criteria of \"good and reliable\"
\nconsultants.<\/p>\n
The five-day workshop, attended by some 300 participants from
\nacross the country, will discuss the Clean River Program, the
\ndevelopment of environmental laboratories nationwide and annual
\ntargets in environmental development.<\/p>\n
Sarwono said that, similar to industries, many government
\nagencies were also unaware of the importance of Amdal and
\ntherefore did not integrate the analysis into their local
\ndevelopment strategy.<\/p>\n
On the occasion, the ministry of home affairs' Director
\nGeneral for Regional Development Feisal Tamin in his opening
\nspeech called on government agencies, especially those dealing
\nwith ecological problems, to be more \"environmentally sensitive\"
\nso industries will not exploit loopholes in the environment
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
\"Regional governments should realize that the private sector
\nmay exploit loopholes or the absence of regulations for their
\nbusiness interests,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"In many cases, the business sector is blamed for
\nenvironmental damages, which is not always true.
\nVery often, violations occur because the government -- with its
\narduous bureaucratic procedures that give rise to red tape -- is
\nunresponsive and fails to provide them with the necessary
\nservices,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Feisal also stressed the need for government officials,
\nespecially at top-level, to be more committed to the environment.<\/p>\n
\"Usually the impact of environmental problems cannot be
\ndetected immediately and therefore it is often ignored. Thus,
\nonly with a high commitment to the environment can environmental
\nmanagement succeed,\" he said.(pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/more-environment-consultants-needed-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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