The right to exist<\/p>\n
At first glance, the presence of four \"forest inhabitants\"
\nyesterday, on the sidelines of the ongoing international
\nbiodiversity conference held in Jakarta, seemed out of place. But
\nthese people's stories -- they are from East Kalimantan, West
\nKalimantan, Lampung and West Java -- particularly about how their
\nsurroundings have changed, or are on the point of changing, due
\nto the coming of \"development\", tell us just how serious the
\nthreat to biodiversity in their natural surroundings is.<\/p>\n
What these four people complained most about is the inroads of
\nforest concessionaires and estates, which have taken or will take
\nover their land, thus threatening their traditional way of life.
\nSays Maniamas Miden, a tribal leader from West Kalimantan: \"We
\nbelieve that this is sacred land. We cannot convert the forest,
\nthough by custom we are allowed to take timber and hunt animals.
\nI am afraid the medicine men will find difficulties in looking
\nfor healing plants when the forestry estates come in.\"<\/p>\n
To most of us urban people, the idea of looking for healing
\nplants in the forest may make us feel like we are reading a book
\nfrom the past century. But, one should remember, as research has
\nproved, more and more drugs, including anti-cancer treatments,
\nare coming from plants and animals. Nowadays, it is commonly
\naccepted that biological resources have far greater economic
\nvalue than in the past. And Indonesia is by far one of the most
\nbiologically diverse countries in the world.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is second only to Brazil worldwide in tropical
\nforest area. These species-rich forests are home to the world's
\ngreatest diversity of palm species and an estimated 20,000
\nspecies of flowering plants.<\/p>\n
Indonesia also harbors a rich range of fauna, including the
\ngreatest mammal diversity on earth (515 species), more
\nswallowtail butterfly species than any other country (121
\nspecies), and more species of primates than any other Asian
\nnation (33 species).<\/p>\n
And the marine fauna of Indonesia, as the largest archipelagic
\ncountry in the world, with over 17,000 islands, is certainly
\namong the earth's most diverse. Approximately 7,000 kinds of fish
\noriginate in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
But these vast resources are now are threatened by our own
\nmisdeeds. As has happened in many developing countries, in
\nIndonesia, particularly in the first stage of our national
\ndevelopment plan, we made mistakes in the management of our
\nbiological resources. Part of this was caused by lack of
\nknowledge, and part by our own indifference and greed. We were
\nnot aware then that clearing a hectare of rain forest, for
\ninstance, could kill hundreds or thousands of valuable species.<\/p>\n
The mismanagement and over-exploitation of our biological
\nresources has certainly taken its toll. Deforestation, at the
\nrate of more than a million hectares a year, for example, has
\nrapidly depleted our forestry resources. The depletion of our
\nforests has caused not only floods and environmental changes, but
\nalso the loss of thousands of species, which perhaps may have
\ngreater economic impact. We have also lost thousands hectares of
\nour mangrove forests, and a great part of our coral reefs.<\/p>\n
It is true that in the last decade the government has shown a
\nstronger political will to conserve our biological resources:
\nMore environmental laws are enforced, public awareness of our
\nbiological resources has been upgraded and most important, a
\nsustainable economic development policy has been adopted. But,
\njudging from, say, complaints from people like Maniamas Miden,
\nproblems still exist and there are surely a whole lot of them.<\/p>\n
Apparently, political will is not enough. In the case of
\nforest concessionaires, for example, lack of coordination between
\nthe concerned ministries -- transmigration, home affairs and
\nenvironment -- is obvious. Thus, what we need is enforcement and
\nconcerted action to make that political will a physical reality.<\/p>\n
And as biological diversity becomes a global issue, we will
\nsurely not be able to escape from the notion that it is a global
\nasset. Therefore, what we need is not only the amendment of
\npolicy and new legislation, but also a global agenda and an
\nagenda of actions -- the theme of the ongoing Jakarta conference
\n-- to develop biodiversity for the equitable welfare of all
\npeople.<\/p>\n
And by all people, we means that people like Maniamas Miden
\nand his tribe, as indigenous inhabitants of a region, should be
\nable to continue their traditional way of life, undisturbed. For
\nthey too, as do all of the world's living beings, have an
\ninherent right to exist.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-right-to-exist-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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