Environmental issues can't wait, says Nabiel
Environmental issues can't wait, says Nabiel
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister for the Environment Nabiel
Makarim vows to fight to place environmental issues within the
mainstream of the government's policies.
Speaking in a discussion on environmental problems here on
Thursday night, he said that cooperation from related ministries
was crucial to achieve the goal. It is also very critical in the
effort to materialize the idea of sustainable development in the
country, he added.
He said that environmental problems were not only the
responsibility of his office but must also become the concern of
other ministries.
"We know how bad is the condition of our environment. But I
need cooperation from related ministries, environment activists
and experts to determine what to do next. This is a struggle, but
it cannot wait long.
"Unless strategic measures are taken in the next few years,
our environment will be ruined. If any of you have any
suggestions, I would like to hear them because I'm now an ear,"
he said.
The discussion, held by environmental activists and attended
by members of the House of Representatives' Commission VIII
dealing with, among other things, the environment, was aimed at
gathering input for the newly installed minister.
Legislator Tubagus Haryono asserted that the government must
shift the paradigm from considering the environment as one of the
state's resources into making it the state's assets so as to stop
the excessive exploitation of the environment.
He said that the government would soon submit a bill on
resources management to the House. The bill is expected to
strictly limit the use of the natural resources.
"There is a lot of overlapping in the existing laws on the
management of natural resources, so there should be a higher law
to overcome the problems," he added.
The weak law enforcement and the lack of legal power of the
Environmental Impact Control Agency (Bapedal), which is chaired
by a state minister, were also raised during the discussion.
Environmental activists urged Nabiel to uphold the law so the
government can send a strong message to the perpetrators blamed
for pollution, forest fires and illegal logging, concerns that
have come to the forefront of national issues.
Mas Achmad Santosa, director of the Indonesian Center for
Environmental Law (ICEL), pushed Nabiel not to merely handle
violations case by case or to leave it to the law enforcement
institutions, but to draw up an action plan to curb violations of
environmental regulations.
Sandra Moniaga from Law and Society (HuMa) suggested that
Nabiel correct the current situation where the resources
management is mainly held by industries and foreign investors, by
changing it into community-based resource management.
Separately on Tuesday, Nabiel's predecessor Emil Salim
reminded the participants of the upcoming deadline for Indonesia
to prove its commitment to the Consultative Group on Indonesia
(CGI) last year on stopping forest fires and illegal logging.
"It's Nabiel's duty as minister to uphold the law and bring
environmental issues to the center of the government's policy
since environmental issues actually cut across several sectors,"
he told journalists. (bby)