Activists call for environment fund

JAKARTA (JP): Environmental activists proposed the establishment of a transparent and accountable environment fund at a discussion yesterday.

They proposed that a regular environment "contribution" be collected from private companies exploiting natural resources, and that the money be clearly earmarked for environmental conservation.

"I'm all for the idea of an environmental fund," said Dewi Motik, the deputy chairman for environmental affairs at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

She was speaking at the discussion organized by the leading environmental non-governmental organization Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi).

"For the sake of our own long-term profit, we should be conserving our environment. Even Kadin agrees that natural resources-based business must be obliged to pay a high environment contribution," Dewi said.

A professor of forestry at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Dudung Darusman, said that a "progressive taxation" should be enforced on logging companies as compensation for the depletion of the country's biodoversity and natural resources.

Walhi executive director Emmy Hafild proposed that the contribution be based on the "polluters pay" principle because the environmental degradation caused by many companies had affected many people.

Citing a recent study, Emmy said that air pollution was the second most common cause of infant mortality in Jakarta after diarrhea. She claimed that on a national level it accounted for up to six percent of all infant deaths.

Emmy conceded that yesterday's calls for a transparent and publicly accountable environmental fund were triggered by the "abuse" of the current reforestation fund.

The reforestation fund is collected by the government from timber companies and is meant to be used for the regeneration and conservation of forests. It was enacted under a presidential decree.

However the fund has been "borrowed" for purposes other than reforestation.

Commenting on Emmy's allegation, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance's taxation directorate-general, Djonifar, said that either the Supreme Audit Body, the development finance comptroller, or the House of Representatives should address these problems.

The discussion participants agreed with legislator Laksmiari Priyonggo of the Indonesian Democratic Party who said that the form of the proposed environment contribution should not be a tax.

And Djonifar agreed, saying that the nature of taxes was that they were not necessarily used for the cause they were intended for. (aan)