Environment still ignored

Environment still ignored

From Neraca

According to an assessment made by the Forum for
Environmental Affairs (Walhi) East Java office, the government --
during the New Order regime and B.J. Habibie presidency and at
present under President Abdurrahman Wahid -- has never shown
concrete efforts and measures to pay more attention to
environmental affairs.

The administrations of Soeharto, Habibie or Abdurrahman were
and are only concerned with how to exploit natural resources to
the optimum. In fact, 90 percent of the environment in Indonesia
is now confronted with very serious problems of damage.

In determining its development platform, the present Cabinet
is just the same as the previous ones. It has never considered
whether the carrying capacity and the accommodating capacity of
natural resources are limited or whether they are renewable.

In our opinion, the main focus of the present administration
is how to generate as much foreign exchange as possible. Most
programs of exploitation of even renewable natural resources are
still not properly controlled. In fact, the government should
think about how to renew these resources to ensure they will be
sustainable and the environmental balance will not be disrupted.

In our view, careful observation must be made of the three
issues that the government prioritizes: human rights, regional
autonomy and the plan to exploit marine resources. Efforts must
be made to ensure that a marine institution has not been
established just to serve as a new instrument to exploit marine
resources with the risk of more serious environmental damage.

SUSIANTO

Executive Director

Walhi East Java

Surabaya