Good governance to secure summit outcome

Good governance to secure summit outcome

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has pledged to encourage good governance, reduce
unemployment, ratify environmental conventions and set up a
sustainable development council to follow up on the outcome of
the World Sustainable Development Summit.

State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim said that
creating good governance would top the government's list of
priorities as without it, the implementation of other programs
would be meaningless.

"One thing that should precede the other programs is clean,
transparent and accountable central and regional governments.
Otherwise any grants or loans for health, forests or other
sectors will be useless," he told reporters after opening a
workshop on sustainable development for regents and mayors.

Nabiel also said that the government would ratify the Kyoto
Protocol and the Cartagena Convention.

The government has also planned to establish a council to
formulate further policies on sustainable development, he said,
however he did not specify on any timetable.

"I hope we can soon establish the council," he said.

However, noted environmentalist Emil Salim suggested that the
central and local governments focus on eradicating poverty,
changing unsustainable production and consumption, and protecting
and developing natural resources and the environment.

Emil said that poverty reduction had to target the unemployed
by providing them with, among other things, training to collect
garbage and change it into commercial fertilizer.

The poverty reduction program should also provide socially
disadvantaged people with easier access to safe water by setting
up a public well or having tap water at various points, he said.

The government should also start reducing fossil fuel
production as well as its use in industry and transportation on
the grounds that it causes global warming, and to help change the
pattern of energy production and consumption, he said.

"The government needs to promote the use of clean fuel, such
as gas and solar energy," he said.

"If we don't do this, the Earth will get warmer and warmer and
we will have to brace ourselves for more floods and droughts
along the northern coast of Java and the eastern coast of Sumatra
by 2025."

He said that several regional governments had conducted some
programs in line with the outcome of the Earth Summit, which
could be emulated by other regional administrations.

Emil cited Bantul regency in Yogyakarta, which built a
hospital where people could check their health for Rp 1,500 (16.6
U.S. cents), and Gianyar in Bali, which provided free ambulances.

The summit, which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa last
month, produced over 30 commitments and more than 150 points in a
plan for implementation in numerous areas, including water,
energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity.

Various preliminary partnerships were also reached during the
summit.

Indonesia has reportedly secured various preliminary
partnerships with other countries in combating forest fires and
illegal logging, reducing poverty, lessening marine pollution,
eliminating gas emissions and enforcing property rights.