Environmentalist laments campaigns
Environmentalist laments campaigns
JAKARTA (JP): The country's three political parties came under
fire yesterday from an environmentalist for failing to include
environmental issues in their campaign platforms.
Sudharto P. Hadi, the head of Diponegoro University's Center
for Environmental Studies, said in Semarang, Central Java, that
this meant the United Development Party, Golkar and the
Indonesian Democratic Party had little awareness of environmental
issues.
Few incoming House of Representatives members were conscious
of increasingly complicated environmental issues, he claimed.
"These issues are also closely related to politics," he said.
He pointed to the use of ISO certificates to ensure
environmental protection. Indonesian companies which neglect the
environment cannot gain ISO 14000 certification, potentially
harming their sales in foreign markets, particularly in developed
countries.
He also cited a number of developed countries whose political
parties compete to come up with the best environmental
development programs for fear of being labeled "conservative."
Antara also reported from Surabaya, East Java, that 40-odd
environmentalists would gather in Mojokerto between June 11 and
13 to discuss a provincial antipollution campaign.
Syafruddin N.S., who chairs the Yayasan Lingkungan Hidup
Peduli Indonesia, said the gathering was expected to help sharpen
the activists' vision, find common ground, improve contacts and
develop concrete plans.
The activists are also to discuss the difficulties encountered
in environmental law enforcement.
From Yogyakarta, the news agency reported that local lawyers
have asked that environmental preservation be included in school
curricula. It quoted Budi Santoso of the Yogyakarta Legal Aid
office as saying yesterday that even primary school children had
to be given an environmental education.
In a statement marking International Environment Day, Budi
said the inclusion of environmental studies in primary school
curricula would help nurture young people's awareness of their
surroundings.
He said that enforcement of environmental laws was still lax.
"This is why the effort to reduce pollution rates has yet to
succeed," he said. "The punishment for environmental polluters is
still too lenient."
It was reported in April that the government had drafted a
bill which seeks to empower it to order companies to carry out
environmental audits. Under the bill, containing amendments to
the 1982 Environmental Law, auditing can become compulsory
instead of voluntary.
The government hoped the new law will be stringent enough to
give the government a tool to clobber entrepreneurs who refuse to
comply with the law.
Submitted to the House of Representatives on Jan. 29, the bill
does not stipulate the kind of enterprises that will be required
to conduct environmental audits, leaving that decision to the
government. (swe)