Govt seeks environment audit power
Govt seeks environment audit power
JAKARTA (JP): The government has drafted a bill which seeks to empower it to order companies to carry out environmental audits, State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said yesterday.
Under the bill containing amendments to the 1982 Environmental Law, auditing can become compulsory instead of voluntary.
"It (the new law) will give the government a tool to clobber entrepreneurs who refuse to comply," Sarwono told reporters after the first reading of the bill in a plenary session of the House of Representatives.
The bill, submitted on Jan. 29, does not stipulate the kind of enterprises that will be required to conduct environmental audits, leaving that decision to the government.
At least two large American joint ventures, the oil company PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia and the gold and copper mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia, have voluntarily completed environmental audits.
The bill strengthens the penalties on those destroying the environment, setting a maximum jail term of 15 years for offenses that result in death or severe injury, and a maximum fine of Rp 750 million (US$312,000). The current law stipulates a maximum jail term of 10 years and a Rp 100 million fine.
Sarwono has repeatedly complained that the 1982 law has not been fully implemented by law enforcers and that judges have tended to be lenient on defendants in environmental cases.
He told the House yesterday that a tighter law was needed to give the state the necessary legal instruments to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Another major addition in the bill, according to Sarwono, is a clause allowing environmental organizations to sue enterprises for environmental offenses, for the environment's sake but not for making claim compensation.
Compensation claims can only be made by those who have been affected by breaches of the environmental law.
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the country's leading green campaigner, was not impressed with the bill, calling it a step backward from the 1982 law.
In a statement, Walhi said the bill sought to "castrate" people's participation in the management and supervision of the environment, which was guaranteed under the current law.
The bill recognizes a role for the public but adds a clause saying that their participation is subject to "prevailing laws".
Walhi said this clause, while formalizing the public's role, was likely to restrict people's participation which was against Article 28 of the Constitution on freedom of expression.
The bill deletes an article in the 1982 law that recognizes non-governmental organizations' (NGOs) participation in environmental management, Walhi noted.
Many NGOs, which have helped preserve the environment, could lose their legitimacy, it said. (aan)
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