Free trade may be harm to environment, lawyer says

Free trade may be harm to environment, lawyer says

JAKARTA (JP): An activist warned yesterday of the negative
impacts that trade liberalization could have upon the
environment, with industrialists likely to exploit natural
resources indiscriminately to expand their businesses.

Mas Achmad Santosa, executive director of the Indonesian
Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), predicted that there would
be large scale exploitation of natural resources, causing
environmental degradation and serious water and air pollution.

The destruction would take place as members of the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) would compete to outdo one
another and beat the free trade deadline of 2020, he said.

He recalled that Indonesia had stated its intention to be one of
"the big five" in the pulp and paper industry.

"That means there will be more exploitation of the forests in
Kalimantan and Sumatra, and the air and water pollution will become
worse," Santosa pointed out.

The flow of products from abroad could also affect the
environment, and the life of human beings and other living species.

"There is a possibility that the products imported to Indonesia
are not environmentally friendly," Santosa said.

Indonesia could become a market for new experimental products,
which could jeopardize health and environmental standards,he added.

He said that products which did not meet environmental
requirements in the original country might be dumped in Indonesia
under the free trade arrangement.

The agreement on the deadline of trade liberalization was reached
last month during the second APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in
Bogor. The first was held in Seattle last year.

Compared to the Seattle meeting or the Uruguay Round, the Bogor
meeting lacked environmental spirit, Santosa said, pointing out
that the Bogor Declaration made only one mention of the need for
sustainable development.

Instead of discussing the issue of the environment specifically,
it said that based on the Seattle agreement, APEC members would use
the resources "sustainably", he said.

He criticized the Bogor meeting for not relating trade
liberalization more directly to the environment. Instead, the APEC
members put weight on investment and human resources development.

Although the Bogor declaration does not effectively address the
environmental issue, the Eminent Persons Group in its report to the
APEC ministers suggested that APEC implement the 'polluter pays
principles'. In their view, this could help protect the environment
each time there is a conflict between trade and environmental
interests, Santosa said.

The Seattle meeting came out with eight recommendations,
including one on the environment. He said a working group comprised
of Japanese experts was then established to study the "Three Es",
namely energy, environment and economic growth. Japan, host of the
next APEC meeting, believes that discussion of the 3Es would
dominate the APEC meetings next year.(sim)