Expert wants environment atop development agenda

Expert wants environment atop development agenda

By Joko Sarwono

BOGOR, West Java (JP): "Get rich dirty, clean up later" was a
development paradigm once employed by the United States, some
European countries and Japan.

Although no longer applicable for those nations, Indonesia
unfortunately still uses it, an environmental expert says.

Rokhmin Dahuri of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture said
declining capacity of the global environment to cushion
development impacts, and increasingly complicated environmental
problems were two reasons the paradigm should be discarded.

"Once the environment is damaged, we can't be sure it can be
restored to its previous state," said Rokhmin, 40, who obtained
his doctorate in coastal zone ecology and management from
Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1991.

He is one of only five Indonesians with a doctorate in the
field.

Rokhmin said economic growth received greater attention than
environmental preservation in many regions in the country,
ultimately leading to unsustainable development programs.

Several coastal regions have suffered because of this skewed
approach, he said, listing pollution, overfishing through
environmentally damaging methods and coral reef damage in those
areas.

Rokhmin citing a shrimp farm development project, covering an
area up to 700,000 hectares, on the northern coast of Java. It
fared well from 1982 to 1992, but finally collapsed because of
degradation in water quality from industrial waste. The shrimp
industry formerly earned the nation about Rp 10 trillion
annually.

Rokhmin is now director of the Center for Coastal and Marine
Resource Studies at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture. He is
also head of the master's program for the Management of Coastal
and Marine Resources, and teaches at several other universities.
In 1995, he became one of Indonesia's Model Lecturers.

He spoke with The Jakarta Post recently about how development
activities have wreaked environmental damage in coastal areas.

Question: What causes the most damage to our coasts?

Answer: The development model prepared in a divided, sectoral
way. The planners, both the government and the private sector,
still view renewable biological resources and the environment as
less valuable than mining or the manufacturing industries, which
yield short-term financial rewards.

Other causes include population density. Some 60 percent of
the Indonesian population (202 million) lives in coastal areas.
Poverty forces them to cut down mangroves, mine the rocks, fish
with explosives... all because there's no alternative sources of
income, and just to subsist.

Q: But we cannot avoid industrialization. How best to go about
it?

A: So far industrialization has been centered on the northern
coast of Java, which is understandable because the sloping of the
land allows easy construction of infrastructure.

But the coast has calm waves which slow down degradation of
waste. This is the problem. If industrialization is to be
maintained in Java, it must be directed to the southern coast ...
(it must) definitely be accompanied by various regulations.

The southern coasts of Java have high-energy waves. The waste
dumped there can be directly aerated (mixed by the waves so that
degradation occurs quicker). Granted, the land is mountainous, so
it would be difficult to build infrastructure there. This makes
investment costly. But if we care about sustainable development,
this option is more profitable.

Q: Is it ideal to have industrialization centered in Java?

A: No. (Industrialization) outside of Java would be the ideal
choice. As we know, 70 percent of funds currently circulate in
the greater Jakarta area. It is (proof) of an unbalanced
development pattern. Development should be spread to areas
outside of Java, while the southern coasts of Java should be
developed for marine tourism.

Q: Which coasts have been damaged?

A: Generally speaking, coastal damage occurs at locations with
high-level industrialization and high-density population. The
coasts of Jakarta and Surabaya are heavily damaged. The coasts of
Medan (North Sumatra), Cirebon (West Java), Semarang (Central
Java) and Ujungpandang (South Sulawesi) fall in the middle
category.

There are indications of pollution, too, in the Malacca
Strait, Banten Bay (West Java), Bontang (East Kalimantan) and
other new industrial areas.

Q: What about Jakarta's coasts?

A: In 1993 and 1994 I conducted a survey at Tanjung Priok port.
Even then its water was very murky. The port authority was
pessimistic that the water could be cleaned.

But ports can be restored. I visited the Boston harbor in
1986, and it was very dirty then. There was no fishing, let alone
tourist activities. However, its conditions have improved since
1990. Fishery and tourism are on the increase. Property values
have also increased.

Q: How do you go about restoring damaged coasts?

A: In 1987, the community, the government, academic circles and
research institutes together started cleaning the harbor. It was
similar to our Clean River project, but things were handled more
seriously and with greater commitment of funds and human
resources for that. Thus, if there is a will, a damaged coast can
be restored through technical, social and institutional programs.

Q: How would you do it in Indonesia?

A: First, reduce and, if necessary, stop waste. We must have
waste treatment (plants) with an environmentally friendly
processing technology -- that is, with fewer raw materials and
producing less waste. At the same time, there should be
restoration of the environment, for example by creating rapids in
rivers in order to produce aeration.

Second, dredge the coasts, dig out waste sediment and dispose
it in an ecologically safe place.

There should also be public education on the environment,
accompanied by efforts to improve income.

Q: If environmental education fails and the development course
remains as it is, how much loss will Indonesia face in the
future?

A: In 1995-1996, I assisted a study conducted by a team from the
Asian Development Bank and the office of State Minister of the
Environment. The findings: if the process of coastal and marine
damage continues, then we will suffer an annual loss of US$56
billion by 2020.

On the other hand, if we are willing to invest $2.6 billion
(for environmental education purposes and other matters) the
environment will be saved.

Some people are already concerned about the environment. The
Indonesian Environmental Forum, Walhi, and other non-governmental
organizations are working to preserve the environment. But this
growing concern has been hampered by the economic and political
climate. When a Walhi activist or an environmental expert
expresses an opinion which goes against the mainstream of
development, their opinion is ignored.

It is now time to be more open to constructive input and the
calls for improvement.