Environment assessments missing

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