Environmentalists set up biodiversity network

JAKARTA (JP): Environmentalists here have agreed to establish a cooperation network to fight the increasing danger of biopiracy and exploitation of the country's rich biodiversity by irresponsible businesses.

The desire to establish such a network was one of the outcomes of the three-day 2001 Indonesian Biodiversity Forum which ended here on Thursday.

Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (Yayasan Kehati) founder Emil Salim said the country was prone to biopiracy, a process through which developed states tried to patent Indonesia's natural resources as their own.

Emil, a former state minister of the environment, argued that such a network could function as a starting point for local communities, administrations and non-governmental organizations to monitor the exploitation and conservation of biodiversity.

"Do not underestimate the benefits of such a network. It could have a snowball effect in applying pressure and increasing knowledge about the need to protect our indigenous biodiversity," he told a media briefing after the close of the forum.

He noted that global policies and multinational businesses had become additional threats to Indonesia's biodiversity.

"The developed countries have the brain power, while developing countries provide the resources. They get the patents for breeding or inventing substances from our resources, but we don't get any return."

"That's the battle we're in now," he remarked.

The three-day forum, which was attended by the representatives of local communities and administrations, non-governmental organizations and ministries, as well as experts from 25 provinces, drafted a blueprint on the issue of biodiversity.

Vice chairman of the forum's organizing committee Ismid Hadad revealed that a working group would be formed in September to establish a biodiversity information center to gather and disseminate information as needed.

"This forum has decided not to wait any longer for Jakarta (the government) to take action to protect biodiversity. All the stakeholders involved in the question of biodiversity will use the network to empower themselves," he said.

"In a year from now, the forum will evaluate the progress that each of us has made," Ismid added.

The committee's chairman, Wahjudi Wardojo, who is also director general of forest protection and nature conservation at the Ministry of Forestry, said the forum would also urge the government to revise the law on regional autonomy No.22/1999 so as to give more authority to village administrations in sustaining biodiversity within their jurisdictions.

"In some cases, indigenous communities should be entrusted with greater power to manage natural resources, either by themselves or by collaborating with companies setting up business there," he said.(bby)