Susilo told to revoke mining rule<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Environmental activists have called on the next government under
\npresident-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to annul legislation
\nenacted by the outgoing administration that were deemed harmful
\nto the environment.<\/p>\n
Senior expert of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law
\n(ICEL) Mas Ahmad Santosa said Susilo's administration must revoke
\na government regulation in lieu of law (Perpu) that allowed
\nseveral mining firms to renew operations in protected forests.<\/p>\n
ICEL also demanded revocation of Law No. 7\/2004 on water
\nresource, as it would deny the people free access to water.<\/p>\n
\"The two laws contradict the basic principles of sustainable
\ndevelopment, to which the government became committed following
\nthe 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in
\nJohannesburg,\" Mas Ahmad told a press briefing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The summit aimed to develop a firm action plan for poverty
\nalleviation, providing health care, clean water and a sustainable
\nenergy supply to those without them, and environmental
\nprotection.<\/p>\n
He said even without a regulation permitting open-pit mining
\nin protected areas, the country's forests were already in dire
\nstraits.<\/p>\n
\"Annual deforestation in Indonesia is estimated at between 1.6
\nmillion and 2.4 million hectares, and we have already lost 43
\nmillion of 120.3 million hectares of our forests,\" Mas Ahmad
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The country contributes over 25 percent of the world's annual
\ndeforestation of 15 million hectares, he said.<\/p>\n
The Perpu in question, which was issued earlier this year,
\nallows 13 mining firms to resume operations in protected forests.<\/p>\n
The firms were part of a large group of mining companies
\nforced to suspend operations following the enactment of a new
\nforestry law in 1999 that banned open-pit mining in protected
\nareas.<\/p>\n
Fellow environmental activist Wiwik Awiati said the Water
\nResource Law would only aggravate poverty in the nation.<\/p>\n
\"One of the keys to mitigating poverty is free access to
\nwater. However, the law bars the poor from access to water by
\ntreating the natural resource as a commodity,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The law promotes the commercialization of water, provided
\neither the central or regional governments granted approval.<\/p>\n
The bill was proposed amid pressure from the World Bank and
\nits US$300 million Water Sector Adjustment Loan in 1999.<\/p>\n
ICEL also recommended that the environmental post at the
\nnational level be expanded.<\/p>\n
\"Apart from a responsibility to draw up environmental
\nprotection policies, it should also be given a regulatory role,\"
\nMas Ahmad said, adding that the existing position of state
\nminister had only a coordinating role in environmental matters.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susilo-told-to-revoke-mining-rule-1447893297",
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