Environment assessments missing

JAKARTA: An official of the Environmental Impact Control Agency (Bapedal) has expressed concern over the approval of many licenses for new businesses by local administrations, even though they are not accompanied by a mandatory environmental impact assessment.

"An estimated 10 percent of new businesses approved by the local administrations do not have an environment impact assessment," Bapedal's deputy chair for environmental law compliance Masnellyarti Hilman said on Friday.

Under Government Regulation No. 27/1999 on environmental impact assessment, enacted to replace regulation No. 51/1993, the establishment of new businesses is strictly required to be subject to environmental impact assessment, she said.

"The many irregularities in issuing business permits are caused mainly by carelessness on the part of local administrations about the existence of Regulation No. 27/1999 and Law No. 23/1997 on environmental management," she added.

Most of those violating the regulations were domestic investment companies, she said, adding that this situation was worsened by the fact that consumers were still not aware of the environmental impact caused by the processing or manufacture of the products they used. -- JP