Few parties touch basic environmental issues
Few parties touch basic environmental issues
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite the series of natural disasters that have ravaged vast
stretches of the country in recent years, current and aspiring
leaders seem uninterested in addressing environmental issues in
their political campaigns.
The Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) said on
Friday that a study on the political platforms and programs of
the 24 parties contesting the general election found that only
half of them focus on basic environmental issues.
"Regime after regime, there has been no significant
breakthrough on the environment. We must deal with droughts,
floods, landslides and even illegal logging on and on without new
approaches in dealing with these issues," said Mas Achmad
Santosa, a founder and senior counselor of the ICEL.
Achmad lamented the situation, saying that the reason many
parties, including major parties such as the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party, did
not address environmental issues was because they were occupied
with selling economics programs without realizing that natural
disasters might impact the economy adversely.
"They think these issues are not sexy nor a selling point.
It's different here compared to developed nations, where a
sustainable environment has become part of the public demand.
Most of the parties here use a market approach instead of a
nation-saving approach," he said.
The ICEL report lists those 12 parties with environmental
platforms as the: Crescent Star Party (PBB), United Development
Party (PPP), New Indonesia Alliance Party (PPIB), Democratic
Party, Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB), National
Awakening Party (PKB), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Indonesian
Democratic Vanguard Party (PPDI), National Mandate Party (PAN),
Reform Star Party (PBR), Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and
Pancasila Patriots' Party.
"However, we must remember that the programs are basic and
still on paper -- without any implementation as yet. The public
must make demands and remind the parties of their promises should
they gain power," he said.
The ICEL divided the parties' programs into three categories:
basic environmental/natural resources, sustainable development
and good governance-sustainable development.
"Of these 12 parties, only four have environmental programs to
support good governance-sustainable development -- the PPP, PKPB,
PKS and PBR," said Achmad.
However, he noted that the PKPB's programs for good
governance-sustainable development were taken from the 1999-2004
State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) in their entirety.
"It would be better if the PKPB provided a context and
analysis into why the GBHN has not been implemented, instead of
simply copying it," he said.
The ICEL has called on the public not to vote for political
parties that have no vision toward preserving natural resources
or those that have contributed to environmental destruction in
any form.
Indonesia has been severely hit by chronic disasters that have
mostly been blamed on Mother Nature, and little has been done to
alleviate human responsibility for the causes of such disasters,
such as illegal logging, unchecked deforestation, overdevelopment
and dumping of industrial waste.
The death toll for natural disasters rose from 212,000 between
1981 to 1990 to at least 715,000 from 1991 to 2003.
The country faces floods annually, with massive flooding
followed by landslides occurring in five-year cycles.
In September 2003, a flash flood destroyed over 500 houses in
Bahorok regency, North Sumatra, killing at least 100 people.
Experts have pointed to rampant illegal logging in Leuser
National Park, Aceh, as being the cause of the disaster.
Leuser National Park is also the site of the controversial
Ladia Galaska road project, which was originally planned to cut
through the protected forest and thereby severely damage the
biodiversity of the ecosystem.