Environmental Day celebrated amid rise in devastation

Environmental Day celebrated amid rise in devastation

Hira P. Jhamtani, Environmental and Globalization Analyst,
Denpasar, Bali

The month of June brings seminars, speeches, tree planting,
workshops and awards to commemorate the World Environment Day. In
Indonesia, June is also the month of "environmental disaster" as
haze blankets many cities such as Pontianak, Palangkaraya,
Pekanbaru, Jambi and Palembang.

Apart from fire and the resulting haze, Indonesia is also
prone to floods. In fact it is like a cycle: Floods during
January and February, forest and land fire begins between March
and May, intensifying in June, July and August, landslides in
November and December, the beginning of the rainy season. And
then floods again at the beginning of the next year. The
government insists on calling these as natural disaster, when
they are actually environmental disasters.

Unfortunately, even the United Nations uses the term natural
hazards for floods and wildland fires, lumping them together with
the "real" natural disasters such as earthquake, volcanic
eruption and tropical cyclones. However, it does mention that
disaster events are triggered by natural hazards and related
technological and environmental disasters.

It is important to differentiate between natural and
environmental disasters. The latter is human made and
preventable. Floods are caused by disruption in the natural water
regulation capacity when forests are clear felled in upstream
areas, drainage systems are not well built in the cities, water
catchment areas are converted into buildings and mangroves are
cut in coastal areas.

Similarly land slides and forest fires are human made
disasters when natural resources, particularly forests, are not
managed sustainably. At the global level, climate change is also
playing havoc, triggering environmental and natural disasters.

Environmental and natural disasters are on the rise and may
continue to increase, and they threaten both sustainable
development and poverty alleviation. It is projected that 100,000
lives would be lost each year due to natural hazards, with a
global cost of US$300 billion annually by 2050, if the likely
impact of climate change is not mitigated. Some 97 percent of
lives lost due to natural disasters and a substantial part of the
economic loss will be borne by developing countries including
Indonesia (ISDR Background paper No. 5, 2002).

In 2000 alone, Indonesia lost an amount equivalent to 10
percent of its gross domestic product due to natural disasters
according to official estimates. From January to March, natural
disasters (probably a mix of natural and environmental disasters)
killed 505 people and created 1,070,378 refugees (www.lin.go.id,
May 2003). According to the Forestry Information Centre at the
Ministry of Forestry, these disasters caused substantial loss at
the national level, but no figure was mentioned.

The landslides of Garut, West Java early this year and in
Pacet, East Java last year illustrate the severity of
environmental disasters. At least 26 people were killed and 17
were missing during the landslide in Pacet, while 21 people were
killed in the Garut landslide (The Jakarta Post, March 6, 2003).
Residents in both areas are suing the state forestry firm
Perhutani and the government for allegedly allowing legal and
illegal logging in protected forests.

There are three important aspects of environmental and natural
disasters. First, the poorest are the least prepared in
mitigating the impacts of environmental disaster and they suffer
the most, despite the fact that in most cases these disasters are
caused by other parties. People in the Pekanbaru and Palangkaraya
cities did not cut forests or set them on fire, but they have to
breathe in the unhealthy hazy air. They could not move to hotels.

Calculations on economic loss caused by the disasters is often
less than the reality because the externalities borne by
communities are not considered -- loss of school and working
days, health costs, emotional stress, donations from other
communities.

Second, the government often says it is helpless in preventing
and mitigating environmental disasters, particularly floods and
haze. With advances in technology for weather prediction, the
warning for possible floods and fires is now given well in
advance, yet disaster preparedness is often non existent.
Disaster management -- comprising disaster prevention,
preparedness, mitigation, and recovery -- is very weak.

Basic information, trained personnel and emergency procedures
are either lacking, unclear or not followed. In 1997-1998 during
one of the worst forest and land fires in the country, the
government was practically crippled.

A UNDP- Ministry of Environment Study on the 1997-1998 forest
and land fires had stressed the need for a stronger and
decentralized disaster management institution equipped with
effective policy and enforcement. But not much has been improved
since then.

Third, many environmental disasters are preventable or at
least can be reduced and mitigated. True, in many cases these
disasters are caused by destructive actions or development
projects in the past. The peat fires in Central Kalimantan occur
in the dry season even if nobody set fire to the land; simply
because the peat has become exposed to the sun, when peatswamp
forest was clear felled in the past.

This general knowledge should form the basis for vigilant
supervision and preparedness. But the government often says that
they lack human power as the area to be patrolled is very vast.
This is where community participation must be enlisted. And, the
polluters pay principle must be applied.

Those who did the damage must be held accountable in
preventing further damage by rehabilitating the damaged area and
providing funds for stronger mitigation measures. Unfortunately
weak law enforcement, corruption and lack of good environmental
governance make such a simple effort almost impossible. These
environmental disasters can also be avoided by making and
enforcing the right policies on natural resources management.

Rather than spending money on the usual Environment Day
rituals, it would be better for the government and public to
engage in a process to develop and strengthen disaster management
in Indonesia, within the context of sustainable development.

This would be a holistic approach rather than a partial
measure that the government has always taken. For example, on May
20 three coordinating ministers issued a joint decree to form
the Environmental Rehabilitation Team. The Coordinating Minister
for People's Welfare issued a decree, the Coordinating Minister
for Economic Affairs issued another, and yet another came from
the Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security.

The team's task is to anticipate disasters caused by flood,
landslide and drought through rehabilitation and reforestation.
The Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare is the Chair of
the team, with the Environment Minister as Vice-Chair. In the
past, such joint teams were ineffective.

This time it may be different because the level is
coordinating ministers. But environmental disaster management
needs to also involve the enactment of sound policies to prevent
further environmental damage (not just rehabilitation) and also
ensuring that these policies are adhered to.

Finally, disaster management needs the strengthening of
relevant institutions, people participation, data and
information, as well as human resources development. The key
remains, sustainable management of natural resources, a far from
reality situation in Indonesia.