Civil society vital for sustained development: Emil

Civil society vital for sustained development: Emil

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs a strong civil society to
sustain its development and survive the challenges of the 21st
century, environmentalist Emil Salim said yesterday.

The first step to develop such a society is to empower people,
he said. "Women, children and youths, indigenous people, non-
governmental organizations, employees and laborers, farmers and
scientists all need to be empowered," he said.

"Freedom of expression as guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution
should therefore be implemented in the spirit of the time," Emil
told a workshop cosponsored by the office of the State Minister
of Environment and the United Nations Development Program.

Emil, a former state minister of environment, said the
constitution's Article 28 on freedom to assemble and express
opinions had created many laws before the world had heard of
barrier-breaking modes of communication such as email.

The two-day workshop on Five Years After Rio: Indonesia's
Strategy for Sustainable Development From Now until the 21st
Century is being held at the Millennium Hotel here.

In his speech, Emil discussed various steps to establish a
strong civil society.

He said people should be given freedom to be creative in
implementing the constitution's Article 33 which says that the
country's land, water and natural resources should be controlled
by the state and exploited for the optimal benefit of the people.

Local and regional administrations should be given greater
autonomy, he said. Local legislative councils and village
deliberation forums should have the authority to control the
exploitation of local natural resources.

"Local problems should be settled locally," he said.

He suggested the establishment of a national council for
sustainable development to settle conflicts of interest in the
management of natural resources.

"The council could serve as a medium for the empowered civil
society, also called stake holders, to voice their aspirations,"
he said.

Emil said such councils -- which make recommendations to
affect government policy -- had been established in the
Philippines, Thailand and the United States.

Such council in Indonesia would ensure that the "flag of the
environmental campaign does not fly only in the ministry of
environmental affairs, but also in other offices," he said.

Emil also spoke on the results of 1992's Rio Earth Summit,
which the government had translated into the Agenda 21-Indonesia
Document which was launched yesterday.

He said, "The agenda should find itself incorporated in our
next broad guidelines of state policies."

The People's Consultative Assembly will convene in March next
year to elect a president, vice president and establish the five-
yearly Broad Guidelines of State Policies.

The agenda mentions implications of social and economic
development, including the need for equal distribution of and
equal accessibility to natural resources, funding sources,
technology, science, employment and marketing.

About 50 people, mostly environmentalists, attended the
workshop. (aan)