Environmental impact

Your editorial of Nov. 4, 1996, Sarwono's lead, which called for strengthening of the Office of the State Minister of Environment was right on target. We are currently working to clarify that the authority for the environment rests with the state minister and with the agency he heads, the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal). But unless this position is elevated to a full ministry, other sectors will ignore the laws, as they do today.

It is easy to blame industry for the environmental problems that are destroying the health and quality of life for the people of Indonesia. But it is within the power of the government now to insure that a proper Environmental Impact Analysis, including an operating plan and monitoring plan, is completed before any project is begun. Instead, often the projects are up and operating before any analysis is completed, and then compliance with the operating plan is ignored by the issuing sector or province.

As long as prime environmental responsibility is spread among all the sectors, which have little interest in the environment and no accountability to anyone, we will soon reach the day of a major environmental disaster in this country. As you also pointed out in your editorial, there is little understanding of the costs of such damage. It does not have to be a Chernobyl to be a disaster. It can easily be the death of many people from cumulative toxic discharges, daily poor health and its related costs, or the cost of cleanup of destroyed sites, which has proven to be more expensive than not discharging at all.

I hope that the general public will be more vocal in demanding strong environmental accountability. As you indicated, however, environmental awareness is "appallingly low". This is especially true here in Jakarta, where trucks, buses, and bajaj disregard the black clouds they are creating, and where people throw plastic and paper on the ground for someone else to pick up. Fortunately, the rest of the country appears to better realize that they are also responsible for the environment around them.

The time has come to stop passing blame from one sector to another, from government to industry and from industry to the general public. If a full environmental department with equal authority to other sectors could be created, there would be one responsible sector that could then be accountable to enforce the environmental laws.

JIM SCHERER

Team Leader

BAPEDAL Legal Mandate

Compliance Project