Experts call for natural resource management law

Experts call for natural resource management law

JAKARTA (JP): A law on integrated natural resource management
is needed to synchronize government policies and put to rest
competing interests, experts concluded in a seminar here
yesterday.

Agrarian law expert Maria S.W. Sumardjono and green activist
Chalid Muhammad agreed it was time the government and the House
of Representatives introduced the legislation.

"Without a clear concept on how to manage the existing natural
resources, competition to win the authority to regulate (resource
allocations among ministries) will go on, with all its
implications," Maria said.

"In the absence of a blueprint of priorities, officials will
just compete to be 'populists' and give whatever people want, and
this will only be good for a short time."

Maria said many government policies related to natural
resources "encroached" upon one another, at the expense of
people's interests.

She noted how people living on plots of idle land in a forest
could not obtain land titles from the land agency because the
area was still considered forest and subject to the forestry law.

"There should be an 'umbrella law' (to synchronize policies),"
she said.

Chalid, a member of the Indonesian Forum for Environment
(Walhi), concurred that existence of the law would eliminate the
need for assorted ministries dealing with the matter.

"The country will need only one ministry, namely the natural
resource management ministry, with several directorate general
offices like for mines and energy, agrarian affairs, forestry and
plantation.

"This could save the state a lot of cash," he said.

Both were speaking in a two-day seminar and workshop on legal
reform in the country's natural resources management. The event
was coorganized by the Indonesian center for Environmental Law
(ICEL), USAID, UNDP, the Ford Foundation and the University of
Indonesia.

Opened by Minister of Justice Muladi, it featured speakers
from the ministries of mines and energy, forestry and plantation
and dozens of participants from universities and non-governmental
organizations.

Other speakers were Mas Achmad Santosa of ICEL, the University
of Indonesia's expert on spatial planning Arie S. Hutagalung and
forestry expert Hasanu Simon of the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada
University.

In his paper, Santosa blamed the government for showing only
"pseudo political will" regarding natural resource management
strategies.

Santosa said: "The concept of sustainable development in the
State Guidelines is almost perfect, but (it declines) when it
comes to laws and other government regulations." (aan)