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.