Environmental impact

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